By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
Chicagoans might consider asking what the city has done with all the extra billions in taxes, fees and fines.
Chicago’s $16.4 billion 2023 budget is a whopping $5.7 billion more than it was just four years ago, a 50% increase, yet Johnson still wants lots more in tax hikes. He’s got a long list of tax and fee increases to pursue for what he said during the mayoral campaign was another $1 billion of “investments,” though it’s unclear just how fast he wants to – or can – raise that money. His latest tax hike proposal to help pay for homelessness, alone, would hike real estate transfer taxes by $100 million.
What’s fascinating is how few seem to care. Almost nobody is challenging Johnson’s calls for a billion more in spending. And no one is asking why $100 million wasn’t carved out of those extra billions to deal with the homelessness crisis.
To understand how large that $5.7 billion increase is, consider that Lori Lightfoot’s 2019 budget was just 16 percent larger, or $1.4 billion more, than Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget four years earlier (Lightfoot 2019 budget was $10.67 billion vs. Emanuel’s $9.23 billion in 2015).
Another comparison is to look at income growth in the Chicago area, which hasn’t come close to keeping pace with the city’s 53 percent budget growth. Over the last four years, weekly average earnings for private-sector Chicagoans were up just 11.2 percent. (2019 Q2 weekly average earnings were $1,054, compared to $1,174 in Q2 2023.)
Chicagoans are getting poorer. Is there no end? Just ask Mayor Johnson and your alderman that.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Johnson approves progressive ‘mansion tax’: Hits Chicagoans, businesses when they’re down
- Chicago Democratic alderman challenges ‘far-left extremism that’s taking over city politics’
- 204 Chicago homicides in Mayor Johnson’s first 100 days – including four teenagers killed last weekend
- Chicago’s commercial ‘doom-loop’ could result in a property tax hike on homeowners as large as 22%
- Walmart’s flight from Chicago: ‘Corporate racism?’ Or crime, taxes and dysfunction?
- More cops on Chicago’s streets won’t help until criminals are prosecuted and sentenced
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Soaring city budgets, yup, yet city services all seem far worse, year after year, as if more money results in less productive governance.
I’m sure more illegals can help, send the buses!!!!
All Chicago and Cook County politicians have recently visited the best tailor shops around to have their pockets made deeper. “We need deeper and roomier pockets to fit more cash in them” shouted one alderman at the tailor. Yards of extra material has been ordered to fill the demand of the requested pocket alterations.
What matters is who is being taxed. If he’s taxing more rich people to provide services to poor people, that’s ok in my book!!
Of course it is. Governments spend so wisely, so they deserve more. You liberals have no limits to spending, taxing, regulations, dependency, corruption and patronage.
They can keep spending as long as they can keep taxing. We still have some money left so they can keep on taxing us. It will only stop if we run out of money, move out of Illinois, hide our assets like politicians do, or refuse to pay.
WP is racist for asking about budget accountability.
Sadly I think most can guess where the $B’s went – it takes lots of $$$ to promote Marxism.
How much of $5.7 billion increase is from fed covid bucks?
With ‘Grant Funds’ leading list, up an astounding $2,793 mil/ 154%, one assumes thats essentially all the fed covid funds going to “free stuff” equity giveaways and b&b community investment grant giveaways that’s the lifeblood of all the progressive hustle. How’s CTU/Brandon & the crew going to keep up the hustle charade once the fed covid bucks run out seems the big behind the scenes question for those folks? Or, maybe just stretching out the fed giveaways til dem convention time in 365 days and/or inks dry on ctu $contract$ next year is all that’s needed?
Public employees and retirees had better enjoy the goodies while they last. They’ll be discounted deeply in Chapter 9. Karma’s a…
Maybe they will get a cut as large as Detroit pensioners at around 5.5%?
It’s up to the bankruptcy court to say, of course, but Chapter 9 pension cuts have exceeded 50% in some cases. We’ll know soon enough.
I don’t foresee at any reasonable time in the future Springfield politicians ever permitting Chicago to enter bankruptcy. It would be an existential threat to their existence. Pensioners seem to have outsize moral and political authority even in the absence of legal authority. But make no mistake about it a Chicago proceeding would would be more challenging than Detroit for pensioners. Lenders and bond issuers have liens on Chicago’s sources of income – and those property rights can’t be swept away easily – even if the strategy is to find a progressive judge. This is all too daunting for Democrats… Read more »
I, too, have grave doubts about whether bankruptcy would work for Chicago — for the reasons you said.
Detroit pensioners were blessed (or timed it right) that Obummer was in office when they filed for bankruptcy.
Chicago’s pensioners may not fare as well.
My understanding is if you were retired and not yet eligible for medicare you learned the hard way what the cost of health insurance is.
Mayor Tupak Davis wants this, that and, well, basically everything for his CTU posse. No police, no businesses and no students that can read nor write. Hope you’re happy with Mayor Tupak. Word.
Lakefront LIbTards who voted for this shit-wipe should be taxed first
Public Sector Unions will be paid for their votes by the taxpayers.
They have gamed the system and now the taxpayer pays out their noses.
A prog believes that’s its not your money…..