Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he would oppose a financial transaction tax that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wants as part of his plan for $800 million in new taxes.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson presented his first budget to other city leaders on Oct. 11. While he kept his promise not to raise property taxes, there are other fiscal challenges that will hit taxpayers hard in the future and need to be addressed now.

Pension contributions and debt service now take up 40% of Chicago’s city’s budget.

Brandon Johnson’s ‘Bring Chicago Home’ transaction tax is primarily a tax on the already overburdened and depressed commercial property owners.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is continuing the mayoral tradition of giving the City Council and public too little time and too little information before a deficit city budget is passed. There’s little chance that will change soon, but it could be fixed.

Despite budget experts predicting a $538 million shortfall next year between Chicago’s spending and revenues, only two city leaders opted to forgo automatic pay raises provided to top public servants in September. The mayor and 48 aldermen took theirs.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has reportedly compromised on his proposed mansion tax in favor of a graduated real estate tax. What needs to happen before he can start collecting the extra taxes?