Chicago City Council sets up final vote Saturday on alternative to Mayor Johnson's budget plan
An alternative budget proposed by Mayor Brandon Johnson's opponents on the City Council is gaining momentum, and could get a final vote in the next two days.
Late on Wednesday night, the City Council Budget Committee voted to send the alternative budget to the full City Council—despite warnings from the mayor and his top officials that it would leave a $163 million shortfall that could force midyear spending cuts or tax hikes in 2026.
The Budget Committee vote on Wednesday came one day after the City Council Finance Committee voted the advanced the alternative budget plan.
The alternative plan is supported by a majority of the City Council, but the mayor's team argues the plan is short by $163 million, which raises concerns about the potential for midyear layoffs of city employees.
Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) expressed those concerns Thursday morning.
"I'm a no on this alternate budget," Fuentes said. "I'm a no because I have a responsibility to defend the people that I represent. I have a responsibility to make sure that we're talking about budgets, that I'm not guaranteeing a credit downgrade, that I'm not guaranteeing a larger deficit the following year, and I'm not guaranteeing midyear layoffs."
Opposing alders said their numbers add up, and pointed to new revenue streams instead of taxes. Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th) spoke before going inside Council Chambers, saying the alternative budget is the most financially responsible option.
"Our focus continues to be doing all we can to avoid a government shutdown and a credit downgrade, and that includes proceeding with the only budget that has passed out of committee for FY26," Nugent said. "The process of getting here did not have to be this hard."
The mayors' critics said they're confident that their coalition will hold together, claiming the mayor hasn't been able to peel off any support from their group.
"We're happy that we've continued to build coalition. We've got the majority of City Council, and we feel good about the coalition that is standing with us," said Ald. Nicole Lee (11th).
The alternative spending plan would rely on an increase in the city's plastic bag tax to 15 cents; overhauling the tax on off-premise liquor sales; legalizing video gambling terminals in Chicago; and opening up new advertising opportunities, such as naming rights for bridge houses along the Chicago River, selling banners on light poles, and placing ads on city vehicles.
Aldermen also propose to bring in $89.6 million from selling some debt owed to the city for unpaid fines and fees, such as parking tickets, utility bills, and ambulance fees.
The alternative budget also would maintain funding levels for youth jobs that the mayor originally proposed, and would reduce the city's legal costs by relying more on city lawyers rather than private firms.
Their plan eliminated a garbage collection fee increase the mayor had vowed to veto, while also eliminating his proposal to revive the city's corporate head tax.
"If everything comes in as the alders expect and say it should, we should achieve a balanced budget," said David Griesing, president and chief executive officer of the Better Government Association. "There's still a lot of work to do."
After the City Council meeting Thursday, Mayor Brandon Johnson called the alternative budget plan "irresponsible and unbalanced," but stopped short of vowing to veto it. In particular, the mayor singled out the proposal to sell off some of the debt owed to the city.
"I don't believe this budget should be balanced with increasing fines, fees, and siccing debt collectors after poor and working people," he said.
Still, Johnson emphasized that he and the alders behind the alternative budget agree on many matters.
"We put forth some options that we believe are responsible and fiscally sound. Ultimately, even when we look at the so-called alternative proposal, 98% of what we put forward is actually in their proposal as well," he said. "They did try to double the garbage tax, but we had them walk that back. They tried to cut 5,000 youth jobs. We got them to restore those as well. And now we're looking at what essentially is the final 2%, and we're working hard to find a responsible compromise to pass this budget and ultimately keep our city moving towards becoming the safest, most affordable big city in America."
The mayor's critics acknowledged they don't yet have enough votes to override a possible mayoral veto, but said they still plan to move forward with votes by the full City Council on Friday and Saturday. Their goal is to approve their proposed tax and revenue package on Friday, and the spending side of the budget on Saturday.
"If the mayor choses to veto this budget, that's his decision, but he is the one pushing us to the brink," said Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), who is running for Cook County Board president.
Johnson said both sides agree that a city government shutdown needs to be averted, and he said he would continue to work with aldermen to try to reach a compromise both sides can agree to before the end of the year.
The mayor's latest proposal for the head tax would charge businesses with 500 or more employees $33 per employee per month, but the mayor's opponents said any form of a head tax – which was eliminated in 2014 – is a no-go.