City facing nearly $1 billion deficit
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The city of Chicago is facing a nearly one billion budget deficit for the year 2025.
Due to this financial crisis, mayor Brandon Johnson says a property tax increase was unavoidable.
The proposed $346 million property tax hike would go towards the city's long-term obligations, including both pensions and bonds.
Johnson said the hike will also allow him to avoid mass layoffs, but there will be 743 vacant positions eliminated across the city, 400 of them from the Chicago Police Department.
The Better Government Association is releasing department-specific budget snapshots ahead of the departmental budget hearings.
You can read their budget breakdowns at www.bettergov.org.