Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
Watch out for more property tax hikes. Chicago governments are bleeding and officials won’t reform spending, so it’s hard to see how they avoid going after both homeowners and businesses.
Start with the city. Chicago’s Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski says a property tax increase is “likely” needed to cover the city’s $1 billion budget hole. (Mayor Johnson later downplayed the need for a hike even though he proposed a $300 million hike last year.)
Then there’s Chicago Public Schools’ own $734 million deficit and the likely need for a property tax hike there, too. Pile on top of that the tax hikes needed to bail outthe $771 million shortfall at the Regional Transit Authority.
Oh, and property taxes will go up even further if Gov. Pritzker signs the police and fire pension booster billthat’s sitting on his desk right now. It calls for nearly $7 billion more in taxpayer contributions to the public safety pension plans through 2055.