Chicago’s Finance and Budget committees have approved a $68.5 million property tax increase, marking an important step forward for Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget proposal. The tax hike is intended to address a nearly $1 billion deficit in the city’s budget.
The latest version of the mayor’s budget does not include any layoffs, but it does include new taxes on cloud services, parking fees, streaming platforms, and plastic bags. Additionally, there will be a congestion tax on weekend ride shares and more speed cameras added as approved by the budget committee.
Last month, the initial version of the mayor’s proposed budget was rejected by city council due to its inclusion of a $300 million property tax hike and an additional proposed increase of $150 million. Now that it has passed through both committees successfully,the final vote will take place at Friday’s full city council meeting.The deadline for passing an approvedbudget is approaching quickly atthe endof this year.
