The Chicago City Council was set to meet Tuesday morning, and Mayor Brandon Johnson was set to hold a town hall on the Southwest Side Tuesday night — after a key City Council committee voted down his tax plan for the 2026 city budget.

The vote put the budget in limbo.

On Monday, the City Council Finance Committee's 25-10 vote against the mayor's tax package came only after repeated efforts to delay any vote were blocked.

The key sticking point for many critics of Johnson's budget plan was his push for a $21 per month per employee tax on large businesses, also known as a head tax.

A head tax was on the books in Chicago 1973 through 2014, It taxed companies with more than 50 Chicago-based employees $4 per employee per month.

That tax raised $35 million in its final year under Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who phased out the head tax starting in 2012, calling it a job killer.

When details first emerged about reinstating the head tax, an independent expert lambasted the idea. He said charging corporations $21 per employee would not bode well for business, and also said aldermen would not let the head tax fly.

Indeed they did not.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), one of the mayor's most outspoken critics, argued that the head tax would only drive more businesses out of Chicago.

Reilly noted that a recent analysis by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas' office determined the median property tax bill for homeowners in Chicago rose 16.7% in the past year, in large part because of a $134 million drop in property taxes collected from commercial properties.

Mayor Johnson continues to defend the idea, saying it will generate more than $80 million for violence reduction and youth job programs.

That money would otherwise need to come from service cuts.

"Let me be clear, there are not any magic third options between cuts to core services and layoffs and revenue. Anyone who wants to pretend otherwise is being disingenuous," said Mayor Johnson. "We stand behind the progressive revenue that we have put forward because this moment calls for those with means to put more skin in the game."

On Tuesday night, Mayor Johnson is inviting community members to weigh in on his budget proposal, in his eighth townhall in two weeks.

The mayor said he will answer questions and address concerns at Curie Metro High School, 4959 S. Archer Ave., at 6 p.m.

The mayor's budget proposal also includes other revenue generators that are catching some heat, including a 50-cent-per-user amusement tax on social media companies.

The City Council has until the end of the year to pass a 2026 budget.