CHICAGO URBAN DAILY
CHICAGO (CHICAGO URBAN DAILY)— Two weeks out from the most consequential budget address of his mayoralty, Brandon Johnson made his playbook plain: tax the rich.
The mayor says his 2027 budget will “level the playing field” against corporations pulling in record profits while working people “are standing in lines for food,” the Sun-Times reported. And he’s doubling down on the tech taxes that have outperformed expectations: the cloud tax on computing and software platforms, a higher tax on online sports betting, and a tax on social media companies still tied up in court, with its revenues held in escrow.
The context is brutal: a projected $882.4 million hole in the 2027 budget. And City Hall’s opposition has already drawn its own lines. The 29-member Budget Accountability Coalition told Johnson last month: no property tax increase, no head tax or tax on job growth, no counting on Springfield money that hasn’t been approved.
Johnson answered the coalition directly, accusing his council opponents of “coddling individuals that are already being protected by Donald Trump.” The mayor vowed his budget would take the side of working people — “That is it. That is all.”
Twenty-nine votes can pass a budget. It takes 34 to override a veto. And a mayoral election lands in February. This fight is the whole ballgame.
Stay tuned to Chicago Urban Daily as budget season unfolds.
Reported by Chicago Urban Daily News. Visit chicagourbandailynews.com for updates.
