The Chicago City Council voted to approve Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s $12.8 billion budget plan, including a $94 million property tax increase. The budget was passed on November 24th, which was followed by the property tax levy that then passed by a 28-22 vote. The property tax increase goes into effect in 2021 and includes an automatic annual cost of living increase running through 2058. With other help from cuts and increases to revenue, Mayor Lightfoot closed a $1.2 billion deficit in the city’s $4 billion corporate fund. The 2021 “pandemic budget” is an effort to help restore the city’s financial state amid the coronavirus pandemic. The budget also approved a multiyear Capital Plan, which will address infrastructure needs and intends to put thousands of Chicago residents back to work.
Mayor Lightfoot’s budget plan was not without its critics. Historically property tax hikes have been the most politically difficult way for mayors to raise money. Under the approved budget, the average Chicago property owner with a $250,000 home is expected to pay $56 more a year. As a result of this increase, some aldermen have pled not to be called on to vote to pull more money from their pandemic-battered constituents’ wallets. To meet this pushback from aldermen, Mayor Lightfoot offered an additional $10 million in violence prevention funding, bringing said funding to a total of $36 million. Additionally, Mayor Lightfoot agreed to back away from planned layoffs after further negotiations with labor groups.
The spending plan also institutes a 3-cent-per-gallon increase in the city’s vehicle fuel tax, and the city also approved an ordinance to issue a total of $3.9 billion in general obligation bonds and additional sales tax bonds. Several aldermen who supported Mayor Lightfoot’s spending proposal said the plan is not perfect but conceded it was the best of limited options amid the challenges presented by the pandemic.
For more information on how the city of Chicago’s budgeting decisions can affect you and your business, contact the attorneys at Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC.
https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-budget-2021-mayor-lori-lightfoot-city/8222628/