- When Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked aldermen to share their cost-cutting and revenue-raising ideas with his budget director, some City Council members smelled a rat.
They figured the mayor was trying to spread the blame around for the avalanche of tax increases that will be needed to solve the combined $30 billion pension crisis at the city and the public schools that has dropped Chicago’s bond rating to junk status.
But fear of wearing the political jacket did not stop aldermen from doing their homework and giving Budget Director Alex Holt some very real ideas to generate the $754 million in new revenue the city needs, even under the best-case scenario.
And what a selection of tax increases they're looking at:
- the always popular property tax increase
- a fee for garbage pickup for all residents
- Uber surcharges
- "congestion" fees for downtown drivers
- bicycle licenses
- jack up gas, sales and income taxes
Not a single spending decrease, only increases. And various other fees on goods that will accomplish one thing - drive businesses, jobs and people out of Chicago.
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