Chicago is one step closer to avoiding a government shutdown after the city council voted on a final budget plan following an hours-long session on Saturday.

The final budget passed 30 in favor and 18 opposing it. However, a government shutdown is still possible if Mayor Brandon Johnson decides to veto it.

The mayor's team said there should be an answer by Monday if he plans to veto this. If the budget is not signed by Dec. 30, the city would face an unprecedented shutdown.

Mayor Johnson said he agrees with 98% of what's in the plan, but that 2% deeply concerns him, and that's the main focus at this point.

Harold Washington was the last Chicago mayor to veto a budget, exactly 40 years ago.

"We have the same fight that we had in the 80s. We have the new vrdolyaks trying to come back," Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) said.

Some highlights of the new budget include:

• Increases the city's plastic bag tax from 10 to 15 cents.
• Overhauls tax on off-premise liquor sales.
• Legalizes video gambling terminals in Chicago.
• And sell $1 billion of debt owed to the city for unpaid fines and fees.

That part of the budget doesn't sit well with Johnson and those who oppose the budget.

Johnson put forward a last-ditch effort on Friday to reintroduce a head tax on corporations, which was shut down.

"We have heard from our colleagues that selling our debt would result in predatory practices. We know that to be true," Jesse Fuentes (26th) said.

"I encourage everyone to vote yes. It's not perfect," Pat Dowell (3rd) said.

Mayor Johnson ended on a speech that did not mention a veto, but how this budget could have ramifications on Chicago's poorest communities.

"Even though this 1.67% of this budget could have severe consequences of those every people, their fight has not ended because this vote has been taken," he said.

Again, the final budget passed 30 in favor and 18 opposing it. It needed 34 yes votes to prevent Mayor Johnson from vetoing, so a veto is still on the table, which could lead to a government shutdown.

"It's clear that if he vetoes it, this is on him. this shutdown would be totally on him," Bill Conway (34th) said.

"A shutdown would be a hard stop. No one can afford for this to happen," Samantha Nugent (39th) said.

The mayor will either sign this budget, or there will be a veto meeting on Dec. 29.

If he does sign it, aldermen said there could be video slot machines up and running in the next three to six months.

The mayor's team has not shared any shutdown plans with the council or the public.