CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) — The first of four straight days of scheduled City Council meetings aimed at breaking a logjam over the city’s 2026 budget ended almost as soon as it began.
Mayor Brandon Johnson gaveled Monday morning’s meeting into adjournment less than five minutes after calling it to order, as 20 out of 50 aldermen had reported themselves present. Twenty-six aldermen are needed to establish a quorum.
Among the absent aldermen were members of a group working to craft an alternative to the mayor’s controversial corporate “head tax:” his $33 per worker per month levy on all companies with more than 500 employees in Chicago. The mayor says the tax he calls the “community safety surcharge” would generate more than $80 million for public safety initiatives, including job training programs for young people…