The 2025 Chicago budget has a multi-million dollar deficit. Proposals to fill that deficit have become a battle between two poison pills. Right-wing alders like Raymond Lopez propose cuts to departments services while Mayor Brandon Johnson proposes hikes to property and sales taxes. But both of these options will hurt working people, especially Black and Brown working families.

But there is still hope! Two progressive proposals are pointing the way to balance the city budget without hurting working people.

Photo by Ash Lane as published in The TRiiBE. 

As reported by The Triibe, a coalition committed to public health and safety (Collaborative for Community Wellness, GoodKids MadCity, and the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression) has identified $170 million allocated in Chicago’s 2025 budget for +1000 vacant police officer positions. There is no way for the Chicago Police Department to hire more than 1000 people over the next year, especially as recruitment has been consistently down year-over-year (failing to retain ~320 officers per year)! This money could be redirected to prevent property tax hikes, support youth jobs and violence prevention, preserve the Guaranteed Income program, and provide the Department of Public Health with the resources to address the City’s life expectancy gap.

Grassroots Collaborative and the People’s Unity Platform have also put forward a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement. Many wealthy institutions operate in Chicago without paying any property taxes, such as the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Loyola University, etc. While they occupy hundreds of acres of land and own billions of dollars in property, these wealthy institutions are exempt from property taxes! In other cities, these institutions have been pushed to pay their fair share, and in Chicago, that could add up to approximately $160 million.

Take action to contact your alders and the mayor by following the links below:

Public Health & Safety Budget Amendment:

• Call or email your alder: https://bit.ly/chibudgetaction
  
  

PILOT Program:

• Email your alderman and the Mayor https://bit.ly/chipilot