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Dear neighbors,
My apologies for not having a newsletter for you yesterday. For those of you closely following city government, we were in Council and caucus meetings on the budget nearly all day Monday and Tuesday. Several votes were taken on the budget in Finance Committee yesterday with several more to come today. I want to break down for you why I voted as I did yesterday and what comes next.
On the Revenue Ordinance: essentially, the various taxes, fines, and fees that pay for city government. The Mayor did not bring his ordinance for a vote, as it does not have the votes and is unlikely to. An alternative package came up for a vote drafted by several of my colleagues. I had first been briefed on it the day before but only saw the ordinance language for the first time as it was placed on our desks. I admire the collaboration and independence represented in this work. That said, I voted against this ordinance because a high percentage of the revenue comes from sources that either speculative or potentially regressive. For example, $92M of the revenue comes from enhanced debt collection or the selling of Chicagoans' debt to collection agencies, the same as some hospitals do. However, our comptroller stated that not only has Chicago not done this before, to the best of his knowledge no city has done this before. It is the same question related to augmented reality advertising revenue. Granted, the mayor's budget (and the alternative package) both include the SMART Tax on social media companies, but it does not place any expenditures against it knowing that is unproven and would take time to set up. This alternative revenue ordinance ultimately passed.
On the Property Tax Levy: The total property taxes collected by the City of Chicago. I voted in favor of the levy which passed by a 20-6 vote. I also helped to lead on an effort to increase the specific Chicago Public Library levy by $9.15M to restore library positions the administration was seeking to cut, including clerks, librarians, and security guards. Certainly these cuts were billed as "efficiencies" but I personally believe that every library deserves a children's librarian and that book queries should not be managed by AI Chatbots (I am not joking, that is the actual proposed efficiency). The average annual impact per homeowner is approximately $11 dollars; I hope you will agree that fully functional libraries are worth that cost.
On the first Bond Authorization Ordinance: for capital infrastructure and operating costs, including the Local 2 Firefighter backpay and police settlements. This item passed though I voted no on this measure based on it being wholly insufficient for the infrastructure needs of Chicago. By the city's own accounting, street resurfacing funds will drop over the next two years. Sidewalk maintenance funds will drop over the next two years. After the current bond balance is spent down, we will have $4m available annually for all pedestrian, cycling, and transit infrastructure. I could not in good conscience vote for that package.
On the Refinancing Bond Authorization: this allows the Chief Financial Officer to refinance up to one billion dollars in current debt where lower rates are available. As this is a clear potential savings for the city, I voted in favor and it passed with a strong majority.
Where do we go from here? I continue to believe enhanced debt collection without guardrails or a plan is not a feasible way to close our budget gap. I will be working with my colleagues to identify alternatives for that measure. I also continue to believe we need transparency (and state statute compliance) on automated speed enforcement revenue and will continue to press on that point. The budget and the associated calendar seems to shift daily and I will do my best to keep you updated.
Sincerely,
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