Statement from Ald. Vasquez on 2025 Budget Vote
Five years ago, neighbors in our ward elected me as Alderperson of the 40th Ward because they wanted to turn the page from the way the city’s politics had been done for decades. I ran on a commitment to improving accessibility, transparency, and accountability in city government. Two years ago, I was re-elected by our neighbors for a second term, and I like to think that it is in part because of delivering on that commitment.
As an elected official, I have always prioritized transparency and accountability, especially when it comes to the decisions I make on behalf of the neighbors I represent. That’s especially important when it comes to the city’s budget.
This budget would have been a challenging one under any administration. But the lack of leadership and collaboration from the Johnson administration made a difficult budget even harder. From introducing the budget recommendations two weeks late––leaving alders with little time to provide oversight––to including a $300 million property tax increase without performing the due diligence in finding efficiencies, it has left many Chicagoans feeling a lack of confidence in the city’s government.
From my perspective, that lack of confidence is warranted. Failures in Springfield––like focusing on funding a Chicago Bears stadium instead of using that political capital to create sustainable revenue for the city or for CPS––have impacted not only this year’s budget, but future years as well. And the compromises made in this budget will lead to more debt for future generations of Chicagoans with more debt, without meaningfully improving government services.
We can’t afford these kinds of mistakes. Chicago’s financial challenges are real, and they are the result of decades of financial mismanagement that prioritized political expediency over financial sustainability. This budget represents more of the same kind of financial mismanagement.
For that reason, I cannot support this budget. The decisions in this budget risk setting our city back for years to come, due to a number of factors:
The prioritization of short-term fixes over long-term sustainable spending
Chicago has a history of making financial decisions in the interest of short-term political expediency that lead to disastrous long-term consequences, and this budget follows that trend.
In the budget that was voted on today, the administration chose to skip a payment to retire a $40M debt, and instead use that revenue to avoid a property tax this year. While this will provide relief for neighbors who have been hit with the impact of reassessments this year, it will make future deficits even more challenging to solve. Our structural revenue percentage will go down from 78% to 69% due to the latest proposal’s decisions––which will almost certainly lead us to a credit downgrade that will cost future taxpayers billions of dollars.
Instead, we should be prioritizing sustainable revenue that grows with the City. Under the Lightfoot Administration, the majority of City Council voted to allow annual property tax increases tied to the CPI (capped at 5%). Multiple independent agencies have confirmed that this policy represents good governance.
In fact, the city’s own analysis shows that if Chicago had increased property taxes by the CPI since 1977, it would have ended up with the same property tax levy in 2023 (including the over $500 million increase implemented under Mayor Emanuel), but without the need to: sell off City assets like the parking meters, to generate short-term revenue to plug budget holes, borrow irresponsibly, or underfund pensions and massively drive up pension-related debt. In other words, had we implemented this practice from the beginning, Chicagoans would be investing the same in City services as they are now, but with a much greater return on investment.
We can’t continue to make bad long-term financial decisions in the interest of short-term expedience. Skipping the CPI increase last year led to a larger gap this year. Skipping it again this year, while plugging the hole with short-term cash that only increases our debt, will make future budgets even worse.
The failure to prioritize finding structural departmental efficiencies
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: city services require revenue. But we can’t entirely depend on revenue without also ensuring that our government is being run as effectively and efficiently as possible. Put simply: taxes are investments, and people want to see a return on that investment.
The administration’s decision to include a $300 million property tax increase without first doing its due diligence to find meaningful efficiencies––especially in departments that cost the city the most––have once again left us in a situation where we’ve had to scramble for short-term revenue to plug the gap.
We can find efficiencies that don’t jeopardize the safety and services that Chicagoans depend on. In one week, the administration was able to find over $3 million in overtime savings in just one department. We should be doing the same in all departments and requiring independent audits going forward, starting with the ones that cost taxpayers the most.
The kind of thinking that led us to this budget only reaffirms that it is a priority that we fundamentally change our budget process.That’s why, for the past month and a half, I, along with some of my colleagues, worked to transform our current budget process by instituting Responsible Budget Reforms that would:
- Establish a year round budget process;
- Mandate quarterly, mid year, and annual reporting by the Office of Budget Management;
- Institute mid-year budget hearings in September so that we can be better prepared for the end-of-year budget negotiations;
- Increase access to city budget information by empowering the Council of Financial Analysis and requiring mid year, quarterly, and annual analysis from them to ensure
While I voted no on the majority of the budget, I did vote yes on the management ordinance, which includes these reforms. These Responsible Budget Reforms can help us be more deliberative as a body, can provide the accountability and transparency necessary to provide better results and more well informed decision-making that will lead to better outcomes for all Chicagoans.
With more challenging budgets in the coming years, we will need to be more informed, more disciplined, and more collaborative to put us on a responsible fiscal path and deliver for the neighbors we serve. With that in mind, I have called publicly on Mayor Johnson and his team to learn from this moment. The lack of collaboration, the inability to listen to those who disagree or those who aren’t viewed as being on the team, the disingenuous talking points that are disconnected from anything resembling reality, the politically expedient decisions that will cost us and future generations––all of that needs to end. We cannot continue down this path that further undermines any progressive movement in our city, that undermines the ability to govern responsibly, and that further erodes the public’s confidence in government.
Chicagoans don’t have any more patience for excuses. They demand, and this city needs, serious, responsible, and focused leadership. Our city, our neighbors, and this moment require and deserve better.
I am grateful for the group of responsible alders, labor allies, and good government organizations like the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, the Better Government Association, and the Civic Federation, for doing everything possible to try and make this budget better. While this budget did not land where we wanted to, the reforms that we passed will, I hope, make sure their work was not in vain.
I also want to thank every neighbor who reached out to communicate what was important to them in this budget—whether that was the need to lower the burden of property taxes, or to restore funding for certain departments. This decision does not mark the end of those conversations: it represents the beginning of a long but necessary process to build a better, more responsible city budget that reflects the priorities and values of our neighbors. We literally owe Chicagoans a more responsible and democratic budget, and I look forward to continuing the work next year of building a budget that is more accountable to the people of Chicago. I am confident that together, we will find solutions that best serve Chicago residents.
Yours in Service and Community,
