Mayor Brandon Johnson defends Chicago budget proposal: "We're not going backwards"
Mayor Brandon Johnson spoke with CBS News Chicago Monday morning to defend his 2026 budget proposal, which aims to close a fiscal hole of more than $1 billion.
The proposal notably does not raise property taxes, but instead relies on a combination of tax increment finance, or TIF, funding and new taxes focused on the ultra-wealthy and largest corporations.
The budget is proposes using $1 billion in TIF funds to balance the budget, including $500 million earmarked for Chicago Public Schools. Some budget analysts outside City Hall, like Joe Ferguson of the Civic Federation called it poor fiscal process.
Johnson said he's confident he can get his budget passed, and noted his proposal does not raise property taxes and eliminates the grocery tax in the city.
"Donald Trump has cut resources from Chicago," he said. "He's taken funding away from transportation, away from healthcare, away from education. This budget ensures we're protecting all Chicagoans."
Johnson said more than 60% of the budget is structural, and course corrects for ills his administration inherited. He said it allows the city to pay into pensions without laying people off and placing the burden on working people. Instead, he said, it asks the ultra-rich and large corporations to pay their fair share of taxes, something he said has never been done in Chicago before.
The proposed employee head tax would apply to large businesses with mor than 100 employees, levying a tax of $21 per employee per month. But Johnson said 97% of businesses in Chicago will not be impacted; instead it will apply to 3% of the largest corporations doing business in the city.
The money is earmarked for mental and behavioral health care services for the Chicago Polcie Department, domestic violence survivors services and investment in the Chicago Violence Intervention programs that Johnson said has led to the greatest decline of shootings and homicides in the city in more than 60 years.
"We're not going backwards when we make these investments," Johnson said. "It's not unreasonable to ask the ultra-rich to put more skin in the game."
He said he is not worried that businesses will stop coming to Chicago, pointing out that the city has seen the highest CTA ridership this year, record numbers of air travel through Chicago's airports, and the best summer for hotel revenue in years. The mayor said that shows exactly why businesses have lots of reasons to stay here and help invest in making the city safe and affordable.
Johnson addressed a crowd of more than 250,000 people who gathered for the "No Kings" Chicago protest on Saturday in Grant Park, telling them Chicago will not submit to the "authoritarianism of the Trump Administration." And he said Monday he is not concerned that his rhetoric may cause President Trump to double down on his actions in Chicago.
"The biggest concern is the fact that this administration has cut services to all the vital institutions we rely on," he said. "The Trump cuts have caused tremendous harm."
He said the city will use every tool at its disposal, from court cases to litigation, executive orders and more, to protect its citizens from the administration's actions. He also encouraged Chicagoans to take to the streets to protest, use their voices and their First Amendment rights, and demand the government work for the people.
He also said it's clear the administration is targeting the city's Black and brown populations, saying the administration "does not adhere to the constitutional values that the framers established."
Johnson noted every court case the city has filed against the administration has been decided in the city's favor and that he'd like to see the city again be able to cooperate with the federal government as it has done in the past. Chicago has previously coordinated between local law enforcement and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to target illegal guns and get them off the streets.
"But [Trump] cut the budget by 30%," Johnson said of that partnership. "This isn't about immigration or safety. If it were, he wouldn't have taken money from the ATF and cut more than $800 million in funding for violence prevention."