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It also aims to generate revenue through video gaming licenses,
selling city debt and advertising.
Meetings are scheduled Saturday for the budget committee and the
full council. A budget containing the revenue package passed
Friday would need 34 votes in the council to override a
potential mayoral veto.
When asked after Friday’s meeting if he planned to veto the
measure, Johnson said the competing budget packages are “98.4%
similar,” but he expressed concerns about the remaining 1.6%.
“There’s an attempt to sell off debt, to send debt collectors
after people,” Johnson said.
The mayor said the process is not over and negotiations were
“still prevalent.” When pressed, the mayor said a potential veto
decision had “not yet been made.”
Also Friday, Johnson introduced his administration’s updated
budget proposal, including his $33-per-worker monthly head tax
on businesses with more than 500 employees. The mayor said he
would continue to fight “for working people.”
Business groups released statements saying they appreciated
council members standing against Johnson’s head tax, but the
groups also expressed concerns about the revenue package passed
Friday.
Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association President Michael Jacobson
said businesses were again being asked to bear the brunt of the
city’s fiscal mismanagement.
“Hotels continue to face rising costs and economic uncertainty,
and the new taxes and fees included in this budget will make it
harder to grow, create jobs, invest in employees, and remain
competitive,” Jacobson said.
Illinois Retail Merchants Association President and CEO Rob Karr
said the council’s revenue package is an improvement from
earlier proposals, but he said retailers and other job creators
are again being asked to shoulder an “overwhelming” share of the
financial burden.
“These added taxes and fees come atop existing pressures,
including some of the nation’s highest commercial property tax
rates, costly regulations, inflationary concerns and persistent
retail crime that puts employees and customers at risk,” IRMA
Rob Karr
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and the Chicagoland
Chamber of Commerce also expressed appreciation for the
council’s opposition to the head tax and concerns about the plan
passed Friday.
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