The Johnson Administration may be wavering on one of the signature parts of the mayor's budget plan for next year: that "head tax" on Chicago's biggest employers.
The mayor's plan to fill a $100 million Community Safety Fund with proceeds from a $21 per worker per month tax on large employers has been a target for critics on City Council and among business leaders, who call it a potential job killer.
The mayor has forcefully defended the proposal - saying as recently as Monday that it's a response to concerns from executives.
"Their number one issue is safety," the Mayor told reporters at City Hall. "That's what they talk to me about. And we're addressing this."
But the Tribune quotes sources as saying the mayor's office is now floating a proposal that would make more companies exempt from the tax ... setting the floor at 200 employees rather than 100.
During an unrelated appearance in the Town of Cicero on Wednesday, Little Village Alderman and mayoral ally Mike Rodriguez wouldn't confirm the proposal, but suggested lots of things are in play.
"We've got to keep on talking to make sure we come up with a deal that's good for working folks in Chicago ... and for all of Chicago, at the end of the day," said Rodriguez (22nd Ward). "If you're gonna ask working people to pay more in some spaces, then you better ask people with the most wealth as well."
Other alders we talked to say they're not part of those talks ... with one City Council member describing the mayor's office as "characteristically uncollaborative" ... and others saying they still want to see which companies it would affect.
The mayor's office responded with a statement saying in part that the budget, finance, law and policy teams are looking at different scenarios, but "no final decisions have been made at this time."