Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has requested a significant increase to the city’s already-ballooning budget, according to reports published Monday.
Johnson wants to tack on an extra $1 billion to the city’s budget to pay for the policy proposals he promised during his campaign. With this additional money, Johnson plans to tackle homelessness, reopen closed mental health clinics and establish a citywide non-police task force to handle mental health issues. (RELATED: Chicago Mayor Promises Children Pizza Party On First Day Of School, Hands Them Frozen Pizzas)
Chicago’s budget has soared to $16.4 billion for 2023, up $5.7 billion from just four years ago, according to Wirepoints. For comparison, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s budget in 2019 was only $1.6 billion more than her predecessor Rahm Emmanuel’s budget four years earlier.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to hike city real estate taxes to raise $100M for migrants and the homeless is moving forward. But Johnson isn’t planning to spend ANY of this money to reduce violent crime, to stop the out-of-control armed robbery surge, or help victims of… pic.twitter.com/LGZ1DsJhaB
— Reporter William J. Kelly #thatreporter (@Williamjkelly) August 24, 2023
Johnson plans to pay for his homelessness agenda by increasing real estate transfer taxes by $100 million. The so-called “mansion tax” would hike taxes on all properties worth over $1 million, according to news outlet Wirepoints. The tax includes both commercial and residential properties, thereby increasing taxes on the city’s businesses. Chicago’s businesses already pay the nation’s highest commercial tax rate at 4.01 percent. Likewise, Chicago’s office occupancy rate is only slightly above 50 percent of its pre-pandemic levels, per the outlet.
Business media outlet Crain’s argues that the city’s commercial real estate sector is already in shambles, noting that “during the first half of this year, commercial property sales totaled just under $5.3 billion, a 51% decrease from the same period last year.”
Income in the Chicago area has not kept pace with the city’s surging budget. The weekly average earnings of Chicagoans has increased 11.2 percent over the past four years, while the city’s budget increased by 53 percent, according to Wirepoints.