CITY HALL — The City Council’s finance committee on Monday voted against Mayor Brandon Johnson’s latest 2026 budget proposal, throwing what some alderpeople have characterized as an already-strained negotiations process into further uncertainty.
After a few hours of debate over a proposed corporate head tax as well as borrowing plans and other issues, the finance committee voted decisively against the budget’s revenue ordinance.
The final vote was 25 alderpeople against, 10 in support.
“This budget is a disaster,” Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) said during a press conference after the vote alongside 14 of his colleagues who also opposed the mayor’s spending plan. “Let’s go back to the drawing board.”
A major sticking point has been over the proposed corporate head tax, which progressive groups and some City Council members argue is an opportunity to force wealthy corporations to support public safety programs. But the idea has drawn opposition from Gov. JB Pritzker and business groups who have labeled it a job killer.
Johnson originally proposed that the $21 per person, per month tax should apply to companies with more than 100 employees in Chicago. Last week, the mayor’s budget team raised that threshold to 200 people in a bid to win more support from the City Council.
On Monday, however, the threshold had returned to 100 employees, which would bring in $100 million annually for a dedicated community safety fund, according to a presentation by budget officials.
One major change embedded in the latest proposal is that $18 million of that fund would now go toward a grant program for smaller businesses impacted by the head tax if they meet certain criteria.
Still, the changes and last minute lobbying by the mayor’s office over the weekend wasn’t enough to win over skeptical alderpeople by Monday’s finance committee meeting.
Finance chair Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) began the meeting by attempting to recess it to Dec. 2, but committee members voted to deny that motion and force a debate and vote on the revenue ordinance.
Johnson, who held a press conference immediately after the committee vote, said he’s calling for a “recess” until early December so alderpeople can propose additional revenue ideas. But the mayor stood by his head tax proposal, and said he would veto any budget with a property tax hike, a grocery tax or an increase in city garbage fees.
“We are asking the largest corporations in our city to pay a little bit more,” Johnson said. “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.”
Fifteen of the alderpeople who voted “no” — many of them longtime opponents of Johnson — said at the press conference a head tax would cause companies to move to the suburbs or out of state, or cause corporations to possibly lay people off. Chicago previously had a $4 per person head tax that was eliminated over a decade ago by then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Several alderpeople also criticized the budget process and communication from the mayor’s office.
“We cannot afford to rush into a decision and to not look at every possible angle,” Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) said. “We owe it to the residents of the city of Chicago to make sure that we’ve looked for every efficiency possible under every couch cushion, for every penny before we come and look for other things.”
Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) denied Johnson’s frequent argument that alderpeople have not contributed revenue ideas as possible replacements for the head tax. He pointed to a handful of recommendations from a recent report commissioned by the city from accounting firm Ernst and Young, which he believes could bring in approximately $30-$60 million in efficiencies.
“I think a lot of our colleagues have been saying the same thing, ‘here’s another solution, here’s another solution,’” Waguespack said. “Until they start accepting the fact that there are solutions on the table, we have to stand up and push back against this budget.”
Asked about those ideas Monday afternoon, Johnson said his administration already plans to implement some of them this year or in the future, although he has concerns about others, such as reducing 311 call center hours.
“$30 to $60 million, I mean, that’s not a significant shift, quite frankly, in the ultimate goal, which is not only to balance this budget, but to make sure that we are investing in community safety,” Johnson said.
Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) also voted against the budget proposal on Monday. The North Side alderperson said his opposition was primarily over concerns with the budget’s borrowing plans, which includes more than $280 million to cover police misconduct cases, WTTW News reported.
In general, Vasquez said he’s supportive of a corporate head tax.
“Those are very real concerns, and we want to make sure that whatever we do going forward doesn’t settle that kind of debt and deficit on future generations,” he said. “What we know is that the business community has to put some skin in the game.”
Johnson’s few yes votes on Monday came from allies like Ald. Anthony Quezada (35th), who during the hearing listed off information about Google’s profits and a recent donation the company made to President Donald Trump’s new White House ballroom.
“They can pay a corporate head tax,” he said.
Ervin, Johnson’s budget chair who also voted yes, defended his support for the latest budget package by using his oft-cited quote about making hard decisions: “Everybody wants to get to heaven, but nobody wants to die.”
“The question is, are we going to serve the residents of the city? Or are we going to serve folks Downtown? It’s just that simple,” Ervin added. “You’re going to help Google out or are we going to help grandma? We going to help the stock market, or the supermarket?”
Monday’s proceedings were often spirited and sometimes bizarre.
Before the vote, Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) approached reporters to blast both the head tax and budget negotiations process. He said he had heard from other alderpeople and organized labor leaders that the mayor’s office was incorrectly telling his colleagues he supports the head tax proposal — a “direct lie,” Knudsen said.
“They’re just trying to politick their way to a budget, and I think that is to the detriment of the Chicago people, and it’s no surprise,” he said. “This body does not trust them, and things like this are pretty direct evidence as to why.”
Asked about Knudsen’s claims later on Monday, Johnson said the Lincoln Park alderperson “was not being truthful.”
And around 12:15 p.m. Monday, Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) asked for a point of order to call out Johnson’s senior aide Jason Lee, whom he alleged was lobbying Ald. Nick Sposato (38th) on the council floor, in contradiction with the body’s rules.
Dowell cut him off and said “you don’t know what he was saying.”
Lee then quickly walked away but, before leaving the Council chamber, blew a two-handed kiss in Lopez’ direction.
The City Council must legally pass a budget by the end of the year. Right now, it’s not clear when that will happen, but Johnson said he remains open to negotiations.
“I get the storyline. People want the drama,” he said. “The drama is the fact that we have people who are starving in our city, who don’t even feel safe going to get groceries because they’re afraid of what Donald Trump is doing. Let’s stay focused here.”
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