Mayoral challenger Brandon Johnson acknowledged Wednesday he needs the City Council and the Illinois General Assembly to enact major portions of his $800 million tax plan, but he refused to identify a “Plan B” if either body turns thumbs-down.
Johnson’s plan to help bankroll an array of new social programs is the cornerstone of his anti-violence strategy.
It initially included a “Metra city surcharge” to raise $40 million “from the suburbs.” It still includes taxes on high-end home sales and financial transactions; a revived employee head tax; increased taxes on jet fuel and hotel rooms; and “new user fees for high-end commercial districts frequented by the wealthy, suburbanites, tourists and business travelers.”
Under questioning Wednesday by the editorial board at Crain’s Chicago Business, Johnson on Wednesday he might encounter resistance in enacting his tax plan at a time when the City Council is determined to declare its independence from the mayor.
The financial transaction tax needs approval from the General Assembly and Congress. Even then, the exchanges could pull up stakes and move out of the city.
“Of course, we need the support of Springfield and the City Council. ... Yes, there’ll be some push and pull on this,” Johnson said.
“That’s why I’m best suited for this position. … I am collaborative. I have relationships in Springfield. My opponent has to figure out how he’s going to convince Democrats to work with him.”
He noted he “used to work” for Illinois Senate President Don Harmon and that Johnson’s three kids “grew up together” with Speaker Chris Welch’s children.
Johnson contrasted his relationship-building approach to Paul Vallas, whose Republican supporters condemned Gov. J.B. Pritzker for his stay-at-home orders during the pandemic.
“You certainly can’t expect the governor to respond to someone who calls him a dictator,” he said.
Crain’s reporters and board members were clearly not satisfied with Johnson’s “trust me” response. They kept asking the Cook County commissioner and Chicago Teachers Union organizer to identify a “Plan B” for getting the revenue needed to bankroll the “investments in people” he is determined to make.
Sure, Johnson has pledged to hold the line on property taxes and blamed Vallas’ skipped pension payments as Chicago Public Schools CEO during the 1990’s for a $2.5 billion avalanche of property tax increases decades later. But won’t Johnson need to include a property tax increase as part of his Plan B, if only to keep pace with inflation?
“I need industry to help come up with Plans B, C and D, just like working people had to come up with Plan B, C and D even though industry never went to Plan B, C or D. They only went with Plan A [by raising property taxes]. That’s the problem that we have. That’s the problem that we’re gonna fix,” Johnson said.
Johnson was asked whether he was prepared to sacrifice portions of his “invest in people” agenda if the only way to pay for it is to raise property taxes.
The candidate refused to be backed into a corner.
“You have a population decline on the West and South Sides of Chicago because it’s less safe and the property tax burden has crushed the working class. ... You have individuals who are struggling on fixed income with their retirement security who now cannot afford to live in a home that they paid for. Why? Because of property taxes. The rubber has already met the road,” Johnson said.
“You’re asking us to give up on working people. That’s what you’re asking us to do. And I’m not gonna give up on working people. … We have to get rid of the structural deficit. I’m gonna do that. We get to make up to $1 billion worth of investments because it is a matter of life and death. And we get to do it without raising property taxes because that has consistently been the Plan A.”
Desperate to stop an avalanche of tax increases and fearful of police defunding, Chicago’s leading business groups have endorsed Vallas over Johnson.
Asked what the “business community doesn’t get” about his candidacy, Johnson would only say he is someone who can “bring people together,” including CEO’s.
“There’s no reason to be afraid of a middle-school teacher. I taught 7th and 8th-graders. I’m one of the greatest human beings on the earth for just teaching middle school students,” he said.
Johnson stood his ground, even though business leaders have condemned the head tax as a “job killer.”
“No one who does business in Chicago or any of its residents want to race to the bottom,” he said. “We’re Chicago. We’re never gonna be Texas of Florida. We’re not. This is Chicago, y’all.”