The City Council’s Finance Committee on Tuesday narrowly approved Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed $68.5 million property tax hike and a slew of other tax and fee hikes ahead of an expected full budget vote later this week.
The final vote on the revenue package was 14-12, with only scant comments from aldermen opposed. It’s one step toward the spending plan heading to the entire council for an up or down vote, which could happen as soon as Friday.
Among the no votes: Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th; Ald. Nicole Lee, 11th; Ald. Marty Quinn, 13th; Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th; Ald. Matt O’Shea, 19th; Ald. Felix Cardona, 31st; Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd; Ald. Bill Conway, 34th; Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th; Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd; Ald. Matt Martin, 47th; and Ald. Debra Silverstein, 50th.
Aside from the property tax hike, the biggest revenue boosters to help close next year’s budget gap include a boost to the personal property lease tax from 9% to 11%, and the amusement tax on streaming services from 9% to 10.25%. The lease tax is charged on cars and equipment as well as software and cloud computing leases, and boosting it is expected to bring in another $128, while the streaming upcharge would bring in another roughly $13 million.
The property tax levy is typically a separate ordinance and vote from other taxes and fees. That ordinance with Johnson’s initial $300 million hike, however, was unanimously voted down by aldermen last month.
So this year, budget officials tucked $1.878 billion property tax levy for 2025 into the other revenue ordinance, meaning aldermen only took one vote on all of the revenues included in next year’s budget. The change was accepted as a substitute on Tuesday, but drew the ire of some aldermen already opposed to the property tax hike who suggested the maneuver fell short of the state’s “truth in taxation” requirements to publicly post the city’s final levy for at least 20 days.
The city’s assistant chief corporation counsel, Redeatu Kassa, said the city could add new items to a pending ordinance.
But far Beale said it was a technique to “try to skirt the rules and regulations” of the state. “This body should be ashamed of themselves by trying to take this action at this particular time.”
Also on the revenue list: an expansion of the downtown zone surcharge on rideshare trips to include weekends; a boost to the parking rate for garages and valet services to 23.25%, up from 22% on weekdays and 20% on weekends; and a hike in the checkout bag tax from 7 cents to 10 cents.
The city will also add new speed cameras in wards where aldermen want them, to raise about $11 million to pay for Chicago police jobs tied to the federal consent decree which aldermen demanded Johnson restore to the budget.
The parking fee is a slight reduction from earlier proposals calling for the rates to go up to 25%.
Johnson ditched prior proposals to raise liquor and garbage fees in the face of aldermanic pushback.