FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The Chicago City Council finally passed Mayor Brandon Johnson's budget, but it was a bumpy road that exposed a weakness in the city’s charter, which gives more power to the mayor than the council. In the city charter: Though City Council members can vote yes or no on a budget, they have no authority to shape legislation — as aldermen pointed out in the latest budget process. By the numbers: After four tries, Johnson’s $17.1 billion spending proposal passed Monday by a slim 27-23 margin. It has no property tax hike but includes numerous hikes in other taxes and fees and a controversial plan to skip $40 million loan payment, which aldermen criticized. How they voted How it works: In the mayor’s corner are dozens of budget office employees who can shape the budget according to the mayor’s policy agenda. The City Council, meanwhile, has three people in the City Council Office of Financial Analysis, according to Ald. Gilbert “Gil” Villegas. “We're unarmed, and it's all done intentionally so any mayor can put forward their agenda with little debate and not much oversight or transparency,” Villegas told Playbook. He’s working to change that. The three-term alderman, who has worked in state government, is talking to the Illinois General Assembly about crafting legislation that would change Chicago’s charter to give the council more power, including a council speaker or president. By comparison: “We’re the only large city that doesn’t have a speaker or top executive in charge of the council,” said Villegas, ticking off New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia as cities with a council president. The mayor’s power over legislation leaves little room for aldermen to dictate how the city raises and spends revenue. During Johnson’s administration, the council has tried taking a more active role in decision-making, though it hasn’t always been successful. On Monday, the mayor got the win but suffered plenty of blows, including from progressives. Those political rifts will linger, endangering Johnson’s future agenda, the Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman reports. Ald. Andre Vasquez, who co-chairs the Progressive Caucus, voted no on the mayor’s budget, saying Johnson made “disingenuous talking points that are disconnected from reality.” And Ald. Maria Hadden, a member of the Progressive and Black caucuses, was a last-minute yes vote, though she still railed against the mayor, saying the budget process “fractured” the City Council. She criticized Johnson for showing “disrespect” to aldermen’s time. “We are not prepared, and the fault lies squarely with you and your administration,” she said. Take-aways from Monday’s vote: It was the closest budget vote a Chicago mayor has faced in decades, by the Tribune’s Alice Yin, A.D. Quig and Jake Sheridan The close vote signals a fractured City Council and puts Johnson’s future priorities at risk, by Crain’s Justin Laurence No property tax but the budget skips a $40M loan payment and includes fee and tax increases that will impact Chicagoans’ daily lives, by the Block Club’s Quinn Myers The spending plan does not cut jobs or slash city services, by WTTW’s Heather Cherone The 11th-hour passage of the budget was made in a raucous 4-hour meeting that included protester disruptions, via ABC 7 — including aldermen speaking out Harris Poll: Chicagoans don't want to pay more taxes or have services cut, by William Johnson in Crain’s
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment