Overview
- Twenty-seven of 50 aldermen signed a letter asking Mayor Brandon Johnson to exclude the $21-per-employee monthly levy and to present budget options without it.
- Signatories include key members of the mayor’s leadership team such as Finance Chair Pat Dowell, Black Caucus Chair Stephanie Coleman, Transportation Chair Greg Mitchell, and Progressive Caucus member Desmon Yancy.
- The bloc also pressed for Ernst & Young to testify on its savings recommendations and questioned plans to borrow for operating costs, including $185 million in firefighter back pay and other settlements.
- Johnson’s office defended the proposal, saying the head tax is still under consideration to raise about $100 million for a Community Safety Fund and would apply to roughly 3% of employers.
- The $16.6 billion plan relies on a record $1 billion TIF surplus, departmental savings and a hiring freeze, avoids a property tax hike, and trims the 2026 advance pension payment to $120.2 million.