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In the midst of Chicago’s ongoing budgetary disputes, Mayor Brandon Johnson has introduced a new way for City Council members to contribute. He has launched an online portal for them to propose cost-saving measures and efficiency improvements.
With the deadline for passing a balanced budget looming just over a month away, this initiative aims to gather diverse input from council members, ensuring all voices are heard in the budgeting process.
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“There’s been a lot of talk about potential efficiencies,” Johnson stated. “We want to ensure aldermen have every chance to engage with this budget effectively.”
Despite this late attempt to crowdsource suggestions, Mayor Johnson remains firm on his controversial head tax proposal, intended to boost city revenues. This $21-per-employee tax has faced strong opposition from the business sector. However, Johnson insists that during discussions with corporate leaders, the tax isn’t a major concern. Instead, conversations often focus on community safety.
“I’m somewhat surprised by the resistance to the corporate head tax,” Johnson remarked. “When I speak with CEOs, the topic rarely surfaces. Their primary concern seems to be the safety of the community.”
The mayor is also not budging on union concessions, something one alderman suggested Wednesday.
“I’m going to say something uncomfortable here: Labor needs to be at the table,” 19th Ward Ald. Matt O’Shea said.
Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter says unions give every budget cycle, and there is nothing more to give.
“The city workforce is smaller than it ever has been, and we have 500 less workers than we did pre-pandemic. You can’t, you can’t keep cutting the workforce,” Reiter said.
The mayor says layoffs and furloughs are off the table.
Budget Director Annette Guzman says furloughs don’t save money.
“The services are expected to continue at the volume, at the pace they currently exist, which means we’re now doing them with people on overtime, which is more expensive,” Guzman said.
Despite deep divisions on how to balance the budget and time ticking to get it done, the mayor, alders and labor are confident a budget will passed by the end of the year to avoid a city shutdown.