Dive Brief:
- The city of Chicago is facing a government shutdown in the new year if the city council and Mayor Brandon Johnson can’t agree by Dec. 31 how to fund the 2026 budget.
- In an unprecedented move, the City Council voted 30-18 during a Dec. 20 meeting to pass its own budget package without the support of the mayor. As of Dec. 22, Johnson hadn’t announced whether he would sign or veto that budget.
- “City shutdowns have not occurred in recent decades and are uncommon within our political system,” said William Hatcher, professor of public administration and chair of the social sciences department at Augusta University.
Dive Insight:
Chicago is required to pass a balanced city budget every year, but the mayor’s proposed $16.6 billion 2026 budget faces a $169.3 million revenue shortfall.
During a Dec. 19 news conference, the mayor said his proposed budget and the council’s budget are “98.4% similar.” The main sticking point is whether the city raises money through a head tax on large corporations — which the mayor proposed and the council opposes — or through the sale of unpaid city fines and fees to debt collectors, which the council approved in its budget but the mayor opposes.
Johnson called the City Council’s budget proposal to raise $89.6 million of that shortfall by selling city debt to private collection firms “morally bankrupt” and described it as “aggressively going after those with the least ability to pay.” His aides also questioned whether it’s even possible to sell city debt…