Budget hearings resume today, the first since the Council took $75 million out of the Mayor's plan. Where the gap stands

Planning, Housing, Cultural Affairs and the business department testify today. Members who voted to send the parking meter money to pensions say it's the Mayor's job to replace it. Here's the math and the record.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Nov 4, 2026

The City Council's budget hearings resumed at 9:30 a.m. today, the first since the Council voted 44 to 6 on Monday to send $75 million that Mayor Brandon Johnson's 2027 plan counted on to the pension funds instead. Today's hearing covers the departments of Planning and Development, Housing, Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.

Why it matters: the department-by-department hearings are where alderpersons can ask what each line of the $17.6 billion proposal buys. They now come with a bigger question: where the missing $75 million comes from. Members who voted for Monday's ordinance have said it's the Mayor's job to find it. The Mayor's office has said youth jobs, homelessness services, libraries and violence intervention are at risk.

Where the gap stands

The meter money: $75 million the City has already received must go to pensions by Dec. 31, under the ordinance passed Monday. Our follow-up has the finance department's notice of receipt.
The head tax: the Mayor's office expects about $101 million from the $25-a-month tax on each worker at employers with 125 or more, CBS Chicago reported. Gov. JB Pritzker, re-elected Tuesday, has said he opposes it. The Sun-Times reported the total gap could reach $176 million if the Council rejects the head tax, as we noted Tuesday.
Other disputed pieces include borrowing to pay police settlements and a higher tax on leases and cloud computing.

What members said after the vote, as reported by ABC7 Chicago: Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) said the Mayor needs to find the money because "it's his budget." Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) said the Mayor "likes to charge everything." Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), who chairs the Budget Committee and voted no, said on the floor that the combined hole amounts to the equivalent of a 5% cut to every department outside public safety (watch).

What our records add

Last December's math. The Council has rejected a head tax before. A year ago, 29 alderpersons voted for an alternative 2026 revenue plan without one (SO2025-0021719), against 19.

How each ward voted

29 yea, 19 nay, 2 not voting · Dec 19, 2025 · Passed

Yea Nay Not voting

SO2025-0021719: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

Today's departments, last year. At the same hearing a year ago (meeting notes), the business department's questions were dominated by hemp. Members including Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) and Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) questioned the Mayor's plan to license hemp products (watch, watch). The Council later passed a different hemp ordinance from Ald. Marty Quinn (13th), 32 to 16 in January, and our record shows the Mayor vetoed it (SO2025-0021018). Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) and Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) asked about doubling some business license fees (watch, watch). Our preview has the rest of the week's departments and last year's questions, and our Taste of Chicago story covers the festival food-safety questions likely to come up for Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the business department today.

Video, a searchable transcript and our notes will be on today's meeting page after the hearing.

What's next

Thu., Nov. 5: Fire, OEMC (911), Animal Care and Control, Public Safety Administration and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
Fri., Nov. 6: City Clerk, People with Disabilities, Family and Support Services, Human Relations and the Public Library.
Mon., Nov. 9, and Tue., Nov. 10: the Treasurer, Procurement, the Board of Elections, the Inspector General, the Law Department and others.
Dec. 8, 11:30 a.m.: the Council's formal public hearing on the budget (R2026-0029546).
Dec. 31: deadline to pass a balanced budget.

Sources: City Clerk: FY2027 budget hearing schedule, amended (PDF).