Johnson's budget would reopen another City mental health clinic and keep CARE teams running, paid for by a tax still in court

The plan leans on the social media tax, whose collections are held in escrow during a lawsuit. Last year, Ald. Maria Hadden asked for a backup plan for exactly this.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Oct 24, 2026

Mayor Brandon Johnson's 2027 budget would reopen one more City-run mental health clinic and put $5 million toward making the CARE crisis response program permanent, WBEZ reported. The Mayor did not say where the clinic would be or what it would cost.

Why it matters: CARE sends mental health responders, instead of only police, to some 911 calls. Its federal pandemic money, about $5.2 million, runs out at the end of this year, according to WBEZ. Both the clinic and CARE would be paid for from the City's social media tax, and that money is not yet spendable: collections are held in escrow while the tax is challenged in court, WBEZ reported.

What the Mayor proposed

The City closed 14 mental health clinics between 1989 and 2012, leaving five by 2016, according to a 2025 Inspector General audit cited by WBEZ. Johnson's administration has since reopened City-run clinics in Pilsen and Roseland. The new clinic would be the next.

The social media tax charges platforms 50 cents per Chicago user beyond their first 100,000 users, according to WBEZ. WBEZ reported the City is on pace to collect $49.2 million this year. Johnson said the City is "pretty confident" about getting through the litigation, according to WBEZ.

CARE hours were recently extended to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., the Sun-Times reported Oct. 2. Our coverage of the rest of the spending plan is here.

What our records add

This exact question came up last year. The social media tax was part of Johnson's 2026 budget proposal. At the Department of Public Health's budget hearing on Oct. 30, 2025, Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) asked why CARE vacancies went unposted for most of the year (watch) and noted that the budget showed no increase in mental health headcount (watch). She said she supported the social media tax but wanted a contingency plan instead of tying CARE to it (watch).

Budget Chair Jason Ervin (28th) said for the record at the same hearing that the tax's revenue was not initially meant to fund CARE (watch). Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) clarified that the City had eight CARE teams, with other crisis teams paid for by the state (watch).

The Council has voted on the tax since. In June, the Council rewrote the tax's definitions of covered platforms, excluding services such as streaming video and workplace messaging, in SO2026-0025395. It passed 47 to 2. Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) and Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) voted no; Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) was absent.

How each ward voted

47 yea, 2 nay, 1 absent · Jun 17, 2026 · Passed

Yea Nay Absent

SO2026-0025395: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

During last December's revenue debate, Villegas warned in the Finance Committee that taxing social media companies could bring settlements and legal fees because of First Amendment protections (watch).

Earlier Council actions on clinics. In 2023, the Council unanimously adopted Ald. Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez's (33rd) call for hearings on expanding mental health services, including clinics and crisis response (R2023-0002958), and passed the Mayor's ordinance creating a working group on mental health services, 49 to 0 (O2023-0004179).

What's next

The Department of Public Health appears before the Budget Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 28, the same day as the Police Department. Expect members to ask where the clinic would go, how many CARE teams the $5 million buys, and what happens if the court rules against the tax. The budget must pass by Dec. 31.

Sources: SO2026-0025395: social media amusement tax amendments (roll call); R2023-0002958: call for hearings on mental health services; O2023-0004179: mental health services working group.