Aldermen try to pass Chicago's own budget for 2026 despite the objections of Mayor Brandon Johnson It emerged Tuesday morning that they will try to balance their plan with increased liquor taxes, plastic bag fees and Uber fees, as well as millions of dollars from downtown sidewalk advertising and legalized video gambling.
The renegade group vying for a majority on the City Council has unveiled plans to eliminate a $42 million budget gap for 2026 created by eliminating a garbage fee increase from its package and restoring funding for summer jobs for youth.
And the plan – a stunning attempt by aldermen to outmaneuver Johnson and end tense budget negotiations in Chicago – will quickly face a critical test when it faces a vote in the Finance Committee on Tuesday.
“There is no budget on the table right now that everyone would like in all aspects,” Ald. Nicole Lee, leader of the alternative group, said at the beginning of the meeting. “But our job is to ensure that city government continues to operate and does so in a responsible manner, and we believe that we have that, that we are delivering on our responsibilities and that we leave Chicago stronger because of it.”
The spending plan could be adopted this week, and Johnson said Monday night's schedule leaves his team with little room to review it as the city faces a year-end deadline to avert a government shutdown.
While budget supporters have vigorously defended the projections they used to declare it balanced, Johnson argues it is based on shoddy estimates and will leave the city with a dangerously shaky ledger.
The group withheld details of its plan from Johnson during a tense and brief meeting late Monday.
“They're willing to put forward an offer that neither I nor my team have had a chance to consider. That's not how negotiations work,” Johnson said afterwards.
But now these details have finally become public.
The new plan is based on several tax increases: increasing the city's plastic bag tax by 5 cents per bag (or 50%), which is projected to raise $8.7 million; a liquor tax increase estimated to raise $6 million; and expanding the area in which travel surcharges apply.
The proposal also builds on several ambitious plans to make money for the city without taxes. The city is estimated to earn $29.3 million from the sale of new advertising on bridges, light poles and public transit. And he estimates the new “augmented reality” advertising program to be a $6 million gift, less than the group's previous estimates.
The most attractive new cash cow: the legalization of video gaming terminals throughout the city. The controversial plan, long debated in the City Council, would clear the way for gambling at bars and restaurants across the city and bring in $6.8 million next year.
The proposal also values $46 million in various “efficiencies” recommended by consulting firm Ernst & Young in a report Johnson requested earlier this year, and assumes an $89.6 million increase through the sale of debt owed to the city.
But perhaps the most important part of the plan is what it doesn't include: a head tax on businesses.
Johnson has declared the capitation tax, most recently announced as a monthly payment of $33 per employee from companies with more than 500 employees in Chicago, his top priority, calling it an attempt to tax the wealthy rather than working-class Chicagoans as wealthy companies seek tax cuts from President Donald Trump.
Many aldermen strongly opposed the measure, calling it a job killer that would harm the city's economic growth. The measure was repeatedly opposed by a majority of the City Council in signed declarations and even in Finance Committee votes.
