CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- A group of Chicago aldermen have formally introduced an alternative to Mayor Brandon Johnson's budget plan for next year.
But the mayor told reporters after Wednesday's City Council meeting that it's not one he can support.
Twenty-seven aldermen are listed as co-sponsors on a series of amendments to the mayor's 2026 spending plan, largely designed to replace his proposed $82 million head tax on Chicago's biggest employers.
That's a majority of City Council, but it's not enough to override a potential mayoral veto.
The plan calls for a combination of increased fines and fees, including an increase in the city's garbage collection fee, which has been unchanged since it was enacted more than a decade ago, from $9.50 a month to $15.
Bridgeport alderwoman Nicole Lee said the amendments follow the group's core principles: "No borrowing for operating expenses. No shorting our pension obligations. No job-killing head tax."
And before City Council adjourned around noon Wednesday, it approved a calendar agreeing to meet five times in full session between December 15 and 23, to give leaders enough time to approve a budget and avoid a shutdown.
"Thirty individuals voted for the amended schedule," said Ald. Lee (11th Ward). "We're making sure that we're gonna have a budget that's passed by the end of the year."
Another leader of the alternate budget effort, Roscoe Village alderman Scott Waguespack, told reporters he's confident their plan has the needed support
"There's still a lot of work to be done, and I feel that we have the votes that we needed today to move our revenue item forward, as well as the votes for the five upcoming dates," said Waguespack (32nd Ward).
Mayor Johnson said he appreciates the engagement, but that his opinion about a potential increase in garbage collection fees has not changed.
"No, I cannot support a budget that nearly doubles the garbage fee for working people," the mayor told reporters after the meeting. "I don't support a budget that places such an incredible burden on working people. "
During the council meeting, which ran less than two hours, City Council also gave final approval to a $15.3 million payment settling a lawsuit filed by Robert Smith, Jr., who says Chicago police beat and tortured him into signing a false confession in the 1987 murders of his wife's mother and grandmother.
Allies of Mayor Johnson also maneuvered to delay two other proposals.
A vote on a measure that would limit the sale of Delta-8 and other products made with what's known as "intoxicating hemp" has been put off until Council's next meeting.
And a proposal from Downtown Alderman Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) giving police the authority to call a "snap curfew" in areas where large teen gathering are expected has been sent to the City Council's Rules Committee until aldermen can agree on which committee should hear it.