City Council meeting, December 20, 2025

When: Sat, Dec 20, 2025, 10:00 AM (Chicago time)
Where: City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 121 North LaSalle Street - Chicago, IL 60602
Status: Scheduled & Published
Body: full City Council
Video: https://vimeo.com/showcase/citycouncil?video=1148129733
Transcript: full text (30,562 words, automatic captions)

Meeting notes

AI-written from the transcript. Speakers are inferred from cues in the recording, so treat names as estimates and check the video at the linked time.

At its Saturday, December 20, 2025 meeting, the City Council took final votes on the 2026 budget package built around an alternative revenue plan developed by a coalition of alderpersons. After ten public commenters and a lengthy debate in which members argued over debt sales, video gaming terminals, a corporate head tax, police spending and the budget's revenue assumptions, the council adopted the budget recommendation amendments (30-19), the 2026 annual appropriation ordinance (30-18), the management ordinance (29-20), the code corrections ordinance, motor fuel tax items and the salary resolution. A second substitute tax levy affecting the Chicago Public Library levy was accepted 41-7 and the 2026 tax levy passed 38-10. Mayor Johnson said 98% of his proposal was included but raised concerns about the debt sale and other revenue estimates. Alderperson David H. Moore held a proposed amendment to raise the police superintendent's salary for a later cleanup amendment, and the next meetings were set for December 29, 2025 and January 21, 2026 by a 37-10 vote.

Topics: 2026 budget, annual appropriation ordinance, debt sale and collection, video gaming terminals, corporate head tax, property tax levy, police budget, council-mayor relations, public comment

Agenda items discussed

52:32 Public comment period: discussed
1:25:13 Communications, including CDOT loading zone report and revolving line of credit certificate
1:26:14 Resolution recognizing Alderperson Andre Vasquez Jr. intended no vote on the 2026 revenue ordinance
1:26:45 Debate on the 2026 budget package under unfinished business: discussed
4:00:40 Substitute 2026 Municipal Code Corrections Ordinance (SO2025-0021036): passed
4:01:38 Amendments to the 2026 budget recommendations and text portion: passed
4:06:04 2026 annual appropriation ordinance as amended: passed
4:07:34 Proposed amendment raising the police superintendent's salary to $300,000: held
4:13:00 2026 substitute management ordinance: passed
4:18:36 2026 motor fuel tax funds allocation ordinance (O2025-0021031): passed
4:19:21 Motor fuel tax intergovernmental agreement with CTA and Cook County (O2025-0021015): passed
4:20:07 2026 salary resolution (R2025-0021098): passed
4:21:14 Second substitute tax levy ordinance regarding the Chicago Public Library levy: passed
4:24:59 Fiscal year 2026 tax levy: passed
4:30:13 Resolution of intent to form the Chicago Tourism Improvement District (introduced, referred to Finance)
4:32:56 Resolution calling Finance and Planning departments to discuss a developer's debt to the city (introduced)
4:34:59 Substitute ordinance setting next meetings for December 29, 2025 and January 21, 2026: passed

Alderpersons who spoke

Jason C. Ervin (alderperson): Read the items in the 2026 budget package, including the appropriation ordinance, management ordinance, salary resolution and tax levy, and asked that they be discussed together. (1:26:45); Said the concern was not collecting debt but selling it, comparing it to the parking meter deal. (3:26:04); Said the full advance pension payment was meant to come from surplus and that the council's unwillingness to make hard decisions was the biggest downgrade risk. (3:27:46)
Monique L. Scott (alderperson): Said the alternative budget differs from a $16 billion budget by about 1.6% and objected to criticism of the coalition. (1:29:02); Said the mayor's budget already included $110 million in debt collection and the alternative added about $100 million against $8 billion owed. (1:29:59); Said she declined additional red light cameras in her ward and argued residents should pay debts they owe, objecting to framing collection as targeting poor Black residents. (1:32:01)
Jessica L. Fuentes (alderperson): Said she would vote no because the budget relies on uncertain revenue assumptions and one-time fixes. (1:34:58); Said selling city debt is a short-term maneuver that raises long-term costs and risks a credit downgrade without guardrails for families. (1:36:16); Opposed allowing video gaming terminals in bars and restaurants, citing gambling addiction and lost Bally's casino revenue. (1:37:10)
Byron Sigcho-López (alderperson): Thanked residents and young people who pushed back on the budget, saying youth jobs were restored because of them. (1:41:13); Argued the budget shields large corporations from about $83 million in taxes while placing fees, fines and debt collection on working people, and criticized a named business leader. (1:43:05); Said the budget is not balanced and predicted the council would return within months to discuss layoffs. (1:44:19)
Anthony J. Quezada (alderperson): Opposed the alternative budget, saying it lacked fiduciary rigor and was not meaningfully discussed with the public. (1:50:05); Cited residents' concerns about one-time debt sales, lack of long-term progressive revenue and the risk of mid-year cuts. (1:50:45); Cited the budget office's estimate of a roughly $157 million gap and called shifting $100 million from corporations to debt collection a political choice. (1:54:57)
Andre Vasquez Jr. (alderperson): Opposed the budget, describing rising costs for residents and a dysfunctional budget process. (1:56:57); Criticized the administration for not negotiating and said the head tax raised only $83 million while the city borrowed hundreds of millions for back pay and settlements. (1:58:55); Commended the coalition for collaborating but said the council lacks data and resources to craft budgets. (2:01:38)
Anthony Beale (alderperson): Praised the alternative budget and the women who led it. (2:07:16); Said the administration told the council firefighter contract money was set aside but it was spent, and that the city was downgraded after last year's budget. (2:09:07); Criticized TIF sweeps for CPS and said his ward used its TIF funds for development. (2:10:40)
Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (alderperson): Disagreed that the difference was just 1%, calling it a choice between taxing corporations and burdening working people. (2:19:13); Described residents in her ward needing housing and services the city cannot fund. (2:20:10); Argued that relying on efficiencies without progressive revenue leads to austerity and urged a no vote. (2:21:13)
William E. Hall (alderperson): Said he would vote no, objecting to property tax increases after residents protested tax bills. (2:25:23); Offered prayers for Alderperson Michelle A. Harris, whose father had died. (4:34:16)
James M. Gardiner (alderperson): Agreed with Alderperson Jessica L. Fuentes about the negative effects of gambling. (2:28:05); Attributed the deficit to city spending on migrants, while saying he does not blame migrants for coming. (2:30:23); Said the alternative budget is not perfect, criticized the mayor's decisions, and said he would support the alternative budget. (2:34:06)
Maria E. Hadden (alderperson): Said she would not support the budget and that the city's core problem is insufficient revenue, voicing support for a corporate head tax. (2:35:18); Said the deficit stems from past decisions, not humanitarian or COVID spending, and that the proposal may leave a $165 million gap. (2:39:01); Said she was disheartened by the decorum at the Finance Committee and urged members to repair relationships. (2:42:30)
Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (alderperson): Credited residents' advocacy with protecting city jobs, youth employment, domestic violence services and libraries. (2:45:30); Said selling city debt is a one-time fix that increases downgrade risk, comparing it to the parking meter and Skyway deals. (2:47:21); Said migrants are not the cause of the budget problem and that corporations should pay their fair share. (2:49:50)
Lamont J. Robinson (alderperson): Said the city charges $9 for water and trash services that cost $50, attributing structural gaps to prior administrations. (2:55:28); Said the work of the budget director, CFO and comptroller was being disregarded and that they deserved an apology. (2:57:40); Said the city must care for both migrants and longtime residents. (3:00:12)
Desmon C. Yancy (alderperson): Cited a Sun-Times report that one developer owes the city about $6.4 million and said many debtors, including some city workers, can pay. (3:08:42); Said neither budget is ideal and that the mayor's proposal also included higher fines, fees and debt collection. (3:10:03); Said he supports taxing the wealthy but objected to heavy borrowing and to claims questioning his values. (3:11:47)
Walter R. Burnett (alderperson): Said he would vote no mainly because of the expansion of video gaming terminals. (3:14:08); Said the budget avoids hard structural decisions on revenue and he would work on those issues in Springfield. (3:15:40)
David H. Moore (alderperson): Clarified for viewers that the revenue ordinance had already passed and the day's votes concerned appropriations. (3:17:29); Proposed an amendment raising the police superintendent's salary from $284,016 to $300,000, citing crime reductions and pay in other cities. (4:07:34); Thanked the Finance and Budget chairs for communication during the budget process. (4:25:22)
Pat Dowell (alderperson): Thanked colleagues who worked on the budget and said it is not perfect but is a living document. (3:18:54); Said the mayor's proposal included $113 million in debt collection, the alternative added $89 million, and the administration controls how it is collected. (3:20:28); Said controlling police overtime is an executive function. (3:21:25)
Raymond A. Lopez (alderperson): Introduced a second substitute tax levy ordinance regarding the Chicago Public Library property tax levy. (4:21:14)
Brian Hopkins (alderperson): Did not object to the late resolutions but asked that electronic copies be emailed to members immediately. (4:33:55)

Exchanges between members

2:13:08 Beale said he hoped Vasquez now supported an independent financial analysis office and legal department for the council.
2:07:30 Beale praised Dowell among the women who led the alternative budget.
2:19:13 Rodríguez Sánchez disagreed with a colleague's characterization of the budget difference as just 1%.
2:28:05 Gardiner said he agreed with Fuentes's points on the negative effects of gambling.
2:45:00 Manaa-Hoppenworth wished Hadden a speedy recovery and echoed her call for the body to work together better.
3:20:31 Dowell thanked Scott for noting the debt collection already in the mayor's proposal.
3:21:25 Dowell responded to Sigcho-López that police overtime control is an executive function.
3:25:17 Ervin repeated Dowell's saying that everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die.
4:06:06 Ervin corrected Moore's earlier description of what the appropriation vote covered.
4:08:46 Ervin asked Moore to hold his superintendent salary amendment for a later cleanup amendment.
4:09:44 Moore agreed to hold his amendment.
4:25:32 Moore thanked Dowell for her work as Finance chair.
4:25:38 Moore thanked Ervin for his work as Budget chair.
4:34:16 Hall offered prayers for Harris after the death of her father.

Roll-call votes at this meeting

Amendment of Municipal Code Titles 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14A, 15, 17 regarding management, structure, powers and functions of various departments and agencies (2026 Municipal Code Management Ordinance) (SO2025-0021100): Passed 29 yea, 20 nay, 1 absent