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Mayor Brandon Johnson on Sunday was briefing members of the Chicago City Council on his latest ideas to get his 2025 budget approved by year’s end.

Mayor Brandon Johnson abandoning $68.5 million property tax hike in latest bid for budget deal

By Chris Tye, Todd Feurer

Updated on: December 15, 2024 / 11:19 PM CST / CBS Chicago

CHICAGO (CBS) — Seeking to get a budget deal done on Monday, Mayor Brandon Johnson has dropped plans to seek a $68.5 million property tax hike, sources have told CBS News Chicago, though it remains unclear if his latest proposal will win him enough votes from the City Council.

The move comes as the mayor and aldermen have been spending the weekend working to negotiate a possible deal to end the budget impasse in time for a vote on Monday afternoon. The mayor’s team was holding briefings with alders on Sunday to discuss his latest plan.

Sources said one new element of the effort to pass a budget deal on Monday includes the city cracking down on major sports teams and other venues in Chicago to reimburse the city for police overtime costs for special events. That would bring in an estimated $10 million for the city.

The city spent $22.6 million on police overtime for special events this year but has only been reimbursed $2 million, leaving taxpayers to cover the remaining costs.

City law requires special event producers to pay for police services beyond 12 shifts. However, an investigation by Block Club Chicago and CBS Chicago revealed through records requests that the city has not been retroactively charging for those costs.

What’s new?

Over the weekend, City Hall sources said Johnson’s latest budget proposal no longer includes a $68 million property tax increase, which many alderpeople opposed.

Critics said the city should focus on making cuts to save money before turning to tax increases.

To address the $68 million gap, sources said the mayor is relying on other measures including:

$40 million: line of credit or short-term loan
$10 million: Special event reimbursements
$5 million: Savings on gas and electricity
$1 million: Staff cuts across several departments

Still, critics like Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) said such proposals aren’t good enough.

“Taking out a short-term loan of $40 million is just a one-time fix to get through this moment,” Lopez said. “That’s not gonna help us in the long term.”

Lopez was one of about 15 alderpeople who signed a letter to Johnson on Sunday calling for specific cuts like eliminating the “Office of the Vice Mayor” and the Office of the Public Safety Administration, as well as keeping spending on programs for youth employment and homelessness at current levels.

Johnson and his supporters have argued for maintaining city services and jobs.

“Well, if these Vrdolyak tactics keep coming, then again, we will have to send pink notices to people,” said Ald. William Hall (6th), referring to notorious former Ald. Ed Vrdolyak. “Nobody wants to lose jobs.” Read More Here!