Chicago Council expected to vote Friday on mayor's $17.3B budget, with $68.5M property tax increase

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A vote on Mayor Brandon Johnson's $17.3 billion budget was formally delayed during a City Council meeting Wednesday.

The move to delay the vote until Friday was expected and merely procedural.

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But alders on both sides of the budget debate believe the Council could be split right down the middle, setting up a potential tie vote on Friday.

"Well, I think right now the budget's 50/50; they're still scrambling for a couple of yes votes, and that's important for them to make sure they pass this by the end of the year. But it's going to be very close," Ald. Scott Waguespack said.

Johnson needs 26 votes to pass the budget.

Those opposed take issue with any property tax hike.

Despite Johnson cutting his initial $300 million tax increase to now $68.5 million, critics are also against the millions of dollars in additional fees proposed by the mayor.

Chicagoans can expect to pay more on weekend parking rates, the cost of plastic bags, streaming services and congestion tax on weekend ride-shares, in the current budget.

The budget committee also approved adding more speed cameras.

Some aldermen said the mayor, who ruled out city layoffs, failed to identify needed cuts. They plan to vote no, while others are still weighing their options.

"Well, I'm going to be a no on the mayor's budget," Alderman Marty Quinn said. "The 13th Ward residents were clear they're not interested in a property tax increase, whether that be $300 million, or $150 million or $68 million, it's a hard no."

Friday's City Council is expected to have significant and passionate debate before a vote that could come down to the mayor breaking a tie to pass his budget.

"We're a long way from $300 million," Alderperson Jessie Fuentes said. "We know that it's about having conversations and getting residents to understand where we're at. We also want to make sure that we're not doing mass layoffs, right? And so there's a lot of work to do. This is no easy budget. It's not gonna be easy now. It's not gonna be easy next year, fiscal responsibility, to do our best, and we're still having a lot of conversations that need to happen before Friday."

Debate over a zoning item prompted further tensions among some Council members, so much so that it prompted the mayor to call for a recess.

Aldermen Waguespack and Jason Ervin were seen standing face-to-face, and needed to be separated.

"I mean, the tension in the room is misunderstood, passion. No one in that room will harm each other. No one in that room wants to see each other fail. And I think that some of the frustration is based off the perspectives of how individuals see Chicago," 6th Ward Ald. William Hall said.

Proceedings were also interrupted for almost two hours by a fire on the county side of City Hall Wednesday.