Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel is poised to propose the largest tax property hike in the history of modern Chicago, as he seeks to raise it to $500 million for the 2016 budget, said a source of Chicago Tribune last Wednesday.
According to Chicago Sun Times, the City Council also plans to impose a $12 back-door property tax hike-garbage fee, additional $1 per-ride fee on taxi and other ride-hailing services such as Uber, a new tax on electronic cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products, and a penny-an-ounce "fat tax" on sugary soft drinks.
The 60 percent increase in the city's property tax levy, along with a garbage fee, ride-hailing surcharge and smokeless tobacco tax, make up the largest collection of tax and fee hikes modern Chicago have ever seen.
The city is in dire need of the additional revenues to allocated the $30 billion unfunded police and fire pension debt, and $9.5 billion pension crisis at the Chicago Public Schools.
According to Chicago Tribune, the mayor is considering a property tax hike of between $450 million and $550 million for police and fire pensions, but he has yet to settle on a final number. Ald. Patrick O'Connor, 40th, put the figure at $450 million for police and fire pensions, plus another $50 million for a Chicago Public Schools construction program.
In an ABC 7 report, Mayor Emmanuel went to the West Side day care center and took the chance to assess that the aldermen would approved his proposed property tax hike, "If you're asking me do I think we're going to get it done, the short answer is 'yes' because I actually believe the aldermen are up to the task of charting a new course for Chicago's future," Emanuel said.
Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa wants downtown skyscrapers to be taxed a higher rate than private homes and exceptions for elderly and low income homeowners. "So I want to make sure we are protecting working families and senior citizens from a massive property tax hike and we can do that in the form of a rebate,"
