Budget talks already were off to a late start this year on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $17.3 billion spending plan when City Council voted last month — in a stunning 50-0 tally — to reject Johnson’s proposal for a $300 million property tax hike.
What has happened since is, in a way, similarly unprecedented: Reversing its rubber-stamp legacy, City Council is acting like a true legislative body and engaging in a spirited examination of the mayor’s budget. The mayor and the council must close a $1 billion budget gap in time to meet a legally mandated Dec. 31 deadline, or face a first-ever shutdown of city government.
The most singular sign of the council’s new legislative posture is a move by 15 aldermen to demand detailed budget information from the Johnson administration. And, bucking a mayor who largely has refused to reduce staffing or programs, they’re zeroing in on programs where cuts might be made.
What they’re after is what any city resident might want. They’re demanding a better understanding of why Johnson’s budget proposal would have city spending up nearly 50% since 2020. After all, it’s not as if city services have gotten 50% better in that time.
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