Mayor Johnson responds to alternative budget plan presented by Chicago alders
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson appears to reject most solutions offered in a budget proposal supported by many city council members.
On Tuesday, 26 of the 50 Chicago alders signed a 13-page letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson outlining the alternative budget plan. The alders said the multiple budget hearings over the last month were not enough to answer their questions or address their concerns.
A slim majority of city council members say they reject the mayor's idea to tax large corporations and use that money for youth violence prevention programs.
Johnson's team just hit back, saying those claims from the alders are not backed by data.
Johnson's letter said "A safer city strengthens economic activity, attracts new investment, and broadens the tax base, all of which help reduce the long-term burden on taxpayers."
Johnson's finance team also skewered a revenue-generating proposal from alders to nearly double garbage pick-up rates.
The mayor has repeatedly vowed to veto any budget that contains trash collection increases. That's not all he's opposed to.
They may disagree, but the door is not closed, according to Johnson. The Mayor says his team will meet with aldermen soon to hash out this more than $16 billion budget.
"If we don't start making the really hard decisions now, at least some of them, we're in for a really terrible future," Ald. Nicole Lee (11th Ward) said. "I think many of us are really concerned, not just about services today, but what's the future that we're going to leave for our children tomorrow?"
Lee said she feels the mayor's budget doesn't address that question.
Their deadline is December 31.