Three alderpersons call a special Council meeting to send the $75 million parking meter payment to pensions now, not in the Mayor's 2027 budget

Finance Chair Pat Dowell, Scott Waguespack and Nicole Lee want the money paid as an extra 2026 pension contribution. That would leave the Mayor's proposed budget $75 million short.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Oct 28, 2026

Three alderpersons have called a special City Council meeting for Monday to direct the $75 million the City received from the parking meter sale into an extra 2026 pension payment, the Sun-Times reported. Mayor Brandon Johnson's proposed 2027 budget instead counts the money toward the City's planned $363 million advance pension payment for next year.

The three are Finance Committee Chair Pat Dowell (3rd), Scott Waguespack (32nd) and Nicole Lee (11th). Crain's Chicago Business called it the first major challenge to the Mayor's budget.

Why it matters: if the Council passes the measure, the Mayor's $17.6 billion plan would be $75 million short before the Council has even voted on the head tax and other new taxes many members oppose. Supporters say an extra payment now cuts the City's roughly $36 billion pension debt instead of covering a bill the City would pay anyway.

This follows our Oct. 27 story on the dispute at Monday's budget hearing.

What each side has said

Dowell told the Sun-Times the goal "was always to use this money to reduce our pension liability." Asked about the resulting gap, she said, "That's not my problem." Lee compared it to paying down a credit card early. Johnson told the paper the deal gave the City options for the money, that the Council has the prerogative to allocate it, and that finding another $75 million would then be up to the Council, according to the Sun-Times.

What our records add

What the ordinance says. The September ordinance approving the sale to Stonepeak Partners, SO2026-0025407, calls the $75 million community benefit funds "to be used for City pension contributions." It passed 46 to 3 on Sept. 29, enough to override a veto, and the Mayor signed it.

What the City's finance chief said Monday. At the Oct. 26 budget hearing, Dowell asked whether the City would get more value from paying the money to the pension funds in 2026 or in 2027 (watch at 4:14:02). Chief Financial Officer Ashlee Gabrysch said that under the budget as drafted, the payment would reduce the City's planned supplemental pension payment, and that under the amended agreement it is up to the Council to decide how and when the money goes to the funds (watch at 4:16:10). Earlier, she said her latest update was that the money was still with the treasurer's office, and that she favors a separate fund to track it (watch at 2:46:34).

How the budget counts it. In the budget office's opening statement, one-time revenue from the parking meter sale is listed among the pieces that close the 2027 gap (watch at 59:30).

How the three have voted on the budget's biggest fights. All three voted for the Council's alternative 2026 revenue ordinance, which passed 29 to 19 last December without the Mayor's head tax. Dowell and Waguespack co-sponsored the rule requiring 30 votes for City borrowing, and all three voted for it when it passed 32 to 15 on Sept. 29.

How each ward voted

32 yea, 15 nay, 3 not voting · Sep 29, 2026 · Passed

Yea Nay Not voting

O2026-0026270: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

The math of a veto. The Mayor vetoed that borrowing rule, and the override failed by one vote, 33 to 17, against the 34 needed. If the Council passes the pension ordinance and the Mayor vetoes it, the same 34-vote bar would apply.

What's next

Monday, Nov. 2: the special meeting, as reported by the Sun-Times. As of Wednesday morning, our meetings calendar, drawn from the City Clerk's, did not yet list it. We will add the notice and agenda when the Clerk posts them.
Through Nov. 10: department budget hearings continue.
Dec. 31: the deadline for a 2027 budget.