Departmental hearings began Oct. 26 on a plan to close a projected $882.4 million gap, built on a $25-per-employee-per-month head tax on firms with 125 or more employees, $480 million in new borrowing authority, and hikes to the lease, liquor, sports-betting and package taxes.
Hearings opened Oct. 26 on Johnson’s $17.6 billion “Fair Share Budget,” which closes a projected $882.4 million Corporate Fund gap with a $25-per-employee-per-month head tax on firms with 125 or more employees, $480 million in new borrowing authority for legal settlements, and increases to the lease, liquor, sports-betting and package taxes.
The reception was, in WTTW’s word, “stony.” Hearings run through Nov. 10, and the Council must pass a budget by Dec. 31.
The budget debate is running alongside a separate $75 million fight: on Nov. 2, the Council voted 44–6 to direct the Stonepeak parking-meter upfront payment to pension debt instead of letting Johnson count it toward his planned 2027 pension payment — opening a $75 million hole in the very budget under discussion.
This is the budget Johnson has to defend while running for re-election — and the Council has already shown, on the $75 million vote, that it will rewrite his math with a veto-proof majority. The December 31 deadline forces the fight into the open before February.
Share this story.