(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Mayor Lightfoot's idea to tie Chicago property tax increases to the rate of inflation was designed to add predictability and transparency to the city's budget.
But with inflation at a 40-year high, the mayor's signaling there might be some changes to head off a whopper of a tax increase on the eve of next year's citywide election.
Nearly two years ago, Lightfoot made the decision to tie how much the city of Chicago collects in additional property taxes to the rate of inflation, also known as the Consumer Price Index.
Back then it was 3%. Now, inflation has soared to three times that amount, about 9%.
The mayor was asked Monday if she regrets the strategy.
“Obviously, nobody anticipated that the CPI was going to explode like it has this year. Obviously we will take some measures to address that challenge in proposing a predictable property tax increase,” she said.
The mayor said her administration will put some guardrails around the CPI going into next year’s budget.
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