Johnson must retreat on the notion of raising taxes
The mayor is getting bad advice from all sides
What city in the U.S. has higher taxes than Chicago? That is correct-not one. Even the Big Apple with a population of 2.5 times Chicago’s approximate 2.7 million people has lower taxes. And what Illinois city had more people leave for other environs than Chicago. If you said none, once agan you would be correct. With those two overwhelming truths what makes Mayor Brandon Johnson believe it is a good idea to go for $800 million in tax increases. Either he has horribly informed advisors around him, or he is ignoring any good advice he gets.
The second week into his term Johnson would disappoint but not be hurt in the long run, if he announced he is regrouping, and postponing many of the planks in his campaign platform-especially on the barrage of taxes he embraced. Yes, it is unprecedented, but the mayor can explain to detractors and rest of Chicago that the view from the inside is markedly different and far more complex than he or his supporters-none of who have municipal government experience- had realized. His
A mea culpa certainly is preferred to continuing down this path and suffering multiple defeats. His tax ideas requiring state approval are likely DOA given he does not have the backing of Gov. JB Pritzker.
The mayor is facing a situation akin to a driver mapping out a long road trip and after traveling a short distance the driver discovers part of the designate route is under construction. That means the driver has to use side roads instead. The destination hasn’t changed but the arrival time has. Johnson should convey that he must initially traverse the side road (the budget) prior to getting back on his designated highway (taxes).
During the campaign it was evident that Johnson’s predeliction for social services inititives spoke volumes about the candidate’s lack of understanding of the financial straits the city continues to face. For Johnson to admit the money scenario is far more challenging than he imagined would go a long way toward integrity, and is likely to generate a rush of knowledable people willing to help. No one wants to see Chicago sputter - much less fail.
Even a slightly well-informed Chicago resident could attest to the dream of newly found cannibas revenue being a flop. Supposedly, those dollars were going to help the city emerge for the pension stranglehold. The successful, and some might say misguided, push for a casino within the city limits also is supposed to help. That reality is the pension debt is $44 billion and the revenue the city is to receive from the Bally’s casino is estimated to be $200 million annually.
The enormoity of the migrant crisis certainly has altered drastically how the mayor could operate and carry out his agenda early on. However, before the onset of this issue, there was a steady stream of news stories about Chicago’s population drain. It is beyond comprehension how anyone on Johnson’s campaign team was aware of this and still encouraged him to push for new taxes. For him to go along with that was irresponsible. Fewer residents increrases the tax burden on those who remain.
1,108 Illinois communities of all sizes shared in the record loss of more than 104,000 residents in 2022, according to new Census Bureau data. Chicago lost 32% of the state’s total.
The above numbers are from the Illinois Policy Institute’s research division.
Johnson’s strained relationship with the business community needs to be repaired as quickly and as soon as possible. He definitely has to enlist the help of some of the best minds in corporate Chicago. Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel was famous for squabbles with residents, but knew how to tap into the braintrust of business and eeked out a second term. A similar braintrust is available for Johnson, if only he would ask.
Possibly it is pride that keeps him from reaching out. If that is the case, most of us know you don’t need a tall glass of water to swallow that.
It’s been strongly suggested in this space previously that the mayor enact through executive order an immediate policy- cutting every department’s budget by 10 percent. This would result in more than $1.6 billion going back to the general fund, and eliminating the need for the $800 million in new taxes the mayor has proposed.
The 10 percent cut is guaranteed money. Much of the $800 million Johnson is seeking relies on approvals from Springfield and the Chicago City Council-state approval is not likely, especially since the legislators will be heading into an election years. Raising taxes right before an election is usually considered political suicide.
Johnson has not had time or the opportunity to bond with the new city council, so their support for his ideas is iffy at best. And the mayor has not offered an alternative if his requests aren’t granted. The obvious alternative is he will be back at square one.
As there is currently a U.S. President who is a Democrat and the majority of Congress belong to the same party, Team Johnson should be making strong appeals for federal grants and other dollars to further mitigate the need for more taxes.