Thank you, Ald. Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez,
for standing strong against property tax hikes
and fighting for progressive revenue!
Days before the November election, Mayor Brandon Johnson proposed a $300 million property tax hike. Rossana stood strong in opposition, voting “no.” With that budget defeated, she continued to stand strong as a “no” vote, even as Johnson lowered the tax hike to $150 million and then to $68.5 million. Finally, the day before the December 16 vote, the mayor backed down to the opposition and completely removed the property tax hike while still avoiding government layoffs.
We are grateful to Rossana for never backing down!
But Rossana has done more than hold the line against property tax hikes. She has tirelessly advocated for programs that benefit working people while also fighting for revenue solutions based on taxing the rich or redirecting funds from municipal vacancies.
In September 2019, Rossana fought to reinstate the corporate head tax, which former mayor Rahm Emanuel eliminated. As mentioned in her newsletter, “Under this ordinance, which could generate as much as $100 million annually, businesses with more than 50 employees would pay an additional monthly per-employee tax. There would be exemptions for employees in neighborhoods struggling with high crime and unemployment.”
Across 2023 and 2024, Rossana helped champion Bring Chicago Home. According to Chalkbeat, it was a referendum to bring in an estimated $100 million annually by, “a one-time tax on real estate transfers for purchases over a million.”
This year, Rossana fought for the Public Health & Safety Amendment. This amendment would raise an estimated $170 million by re-allocating money budgeted for over 1,000 vacant CPD positions. As reported by WBEZ, “CPD hiring has not substantially outpaced the department’s attrition for six years.” We know those positions will not be filled, so why not use those funds to fill the budget gap and avoid property tax hikes?
While this budget is far from what we or Rossana would have wanted, we know that the right wing of the Chicago City Council was ready to fight for deeper cuts. During the budget debate, Aldermen like Raymond Lopez and Brendan Reilly continued to argue for slashing government services that working people need!
We are proud of Rossana for helping to resist the property tax hike and fending off the worst-case scenario of slashes to government services. We look forward to continuing the fight alongside her for the progressive revenue our city and its hardworking residents deserve!
