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“Out of 591 Chicago residents surveyed, 88% of them, adults who
participated, said that they support increasing taxes on large
corporations to fund city services. While other potential
revenue sources also received some consideration, no other
option garnered more than 50% support,” Johnson said.
The city currently faces a budget deficit of $882.4 million for
fiscal year 2027, alongside another $85.1 million gap in
spending for FY26. Johnson sees the taxing industry as the
solution to the city’s money troubles.
“Raising progressive revenue is far and away the leading
consensus for how Chicagoans want us to address the challenges
that we face as a city,” Johnson said.
Asked if there are other sources of revenue the city could use
to assist in closing the budget gap without making residents pay
more in taxes directly, Johnson argued his recent for the state
to fully fund the Local Government Distributive Fund.
Through the fund, municipalities across the state were
originally allocated 10% of state income income taxes, but the
rate since 2010 has been cut by the state to 6.47%.
“If we were to restore the local government distributive fund to
10%, that's where it used to rest, that would generate another
$264 million alone just for the city of Chicago,” Johnson said.
But despite cuts to the fund, the state’s contribution to it has
increased year-over-year, and the fund has actually increased in
the percentage allocated since it reached its lowest share of
5.75% in 2019.
Johnson also suggested that despite state initiatives in
Springfield like failed proposals for a statewide millionaires
tax and an initiative to change the state’s income tax to a
graduated structure, he thinks the state may have a better shot
at giving local leaders the option to impose such policies
instead.
“I wonder if our work should be centered around not only
challenging the ultra-rich and big corporations to pay their
fair share in taxes. I wonder that if the State of Illinois is
not prepared to do that, then give me and other municipalities
the local authority to do it ourselves,” Johnson said.
The city’s budgeting process and negotiations are expected to
ramp up soon, with a deadline to pass a budget before Jan. 1.
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