Chicago Faces Budget Crisis as Mayor and City Council Clash Over Spending Cuts

Mayor Brandon Johnson and City Council must resolve a $1 billion budget gap by Dec. 31 to avoid an unprecedented government shutdown.

The Chicago City Council unanimously rejected Mayor Brandon Johnson's proposed $300 million property tax hike, forcing revisions to his $17.3 billion budget plan.
A group of 28 aldermen has called for deeper spending cuts and more transparency from the Johnson administration, citing concerns over unsustainable growth in city expenditures since 2020.
The mayor has proposed scaled-back tax increases, including a $70 million property tax hike and new taxes on subscription services, but has faced pushback from aldermen and local businesses.
Aldermen have requested detailed department-level budget data and proposed reducing spending on new programs, cutting redundancies, and restoring staffing levels to pre-pandemic figures.
Failure to pass a budget by the Dec. 31 deadline could result in a historic government shutdown and harm Chicago's financial standing, with both sides under pressure to collaborate on a solution.