By opening the door to a pair of polarizing corporate taxes, Mayor Brandon Johnson could galvanize a progressive base itching to see him deliver on a campaign promise to “make the ultra-rich pay their fair share,

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), the Budget Committee chair, agreed with Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), Finance chair, that the Council needs to reinstate the automatic escalator imposed by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot that would lock in annual property tax increases to match the rate of inflation.

The city of Chicago has a massive $1.1 billion budget gap to fill for 2026, and with Mayor Brandon Johnson promising not to once again pitch a property tax hike, the mayor said Tuesday he's looking at creative ways to raise tax dollars.

The city of Chicago has a massive $1.1 billion budget gap to fill for 2026, and with Mayor Brandon Johnson promising not to once again pitch a property tax hike – which the City Council unanimously rejected for 2025​ – the mayor said Tuesday he's looking at creative ways to raise tax dollars.

Johnson should have been “more proactive in meeting the moment we knew was coming” when $1.9 billion in federal pandemic relief funds dried up, says Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson, adding, “This is the budget that will define the mayor’s first term.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has vowed not to propose property tax hikes, but floated the idea of a variety of corporate taxes to help do so.