Mayor Johnson's legislation passed the Chicago City Council 524 of 525 times. The one that failed, and what's left out

Every key item the Mayor filed that reached a final Council vote this term passed but one, an RTA appointment. Items that never got a vote aren't counted.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Oct 17, 2026

The City of Chicago seal in the City Council chamber, before the Council's Oct. 14, 2026 meetingCity of Chicago video

Since the current Chicago City Council term began in May 2023, 525 pieces of key legislation filed by Mayor Brandon Johnson have reached a final vote, and 524 of them passed. We recomputed both numbers from the City Clerk's roll calls for this story; they match the figures on our Insights page. The one that failed was an appointment: Jarixon Medina to the Regional Transportation Authority board, voted down 25 to 18 on Oct. 30, 2024.

That record says less about the Council's independence than it seems to, for two reasons. The count only includes items that got to a final vote. And much of what the Council has done against the Mayor's wishes this term started with alderpersons, not with him.

What's in the 525?

The count is every item the Clerk flags as key legislation, whose filing sponsor is the Mayor, with a final action this term: 509 ordinances, 13 appointments and 3 resolutions. They include redevelopment agreements, leases, bond sales, tax incentives, special service area budgets and intergovernmental agreements.

Of the 525, 476 passed without a single no vote. Forty-nine drew at least one no, and nine drew 10 or more. The closest wins were his 2025 revenue ordinance and property tax levy, 27 to 23 on Dec. 16, 2024, and a general obligation bond issue, 26 to 23 on Feb. 26, 2025.

The one that failed

On Oct. 30, 2024, the Committee on Transportation and Public Way's report brought five of the Mayor's appointments to the Regional Transportation Authority board to the floor. Four were approved, each 47 to 0 with three members not voting. The fifth, Jarixon Medina (SA2024-0013538), failed with 18 yeas, 25 nays and 7 members not voting.

How each ward voted

17 yea, 25 nay, 6 not voting · Oct 30, 2024 · Failed to Pass

Yea Nay Not voting

SA2024-0013538: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

The 25 no votes included Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), Ald. Gregory Mitchell (7th), Ald. Michelle Harris (8th), Ald. Matthew O'Shea (19th), Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd), Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), Ald. Andre Vasquez Jr. (40th) and Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd). The 18 yeas included Lopez, Moore, La Spata, Ald. Jason Ervin (28th Ward) and Ald. Byron Sigcho-López (25th Ward), and Ald. Carlos Ramírez-Rosa, who represented the 35th Ward at the time. The seven not voting were Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th), Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th), Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th), Ald. Ronnie Mosley (21st), Ald. Jessica Fuentes (26th), Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) and Ald. Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (33rd).

How the Council voted on Jarixon Medina's RTA appointment, Oct. 30, 2024

Source: City Clerk · as of Oct 21, 2026

What the 525 leave out

An item that never gets a final vote never counts as a loss. In our data on Oct. 17, 2026, 26 key items the Mayor filed this term had been sitting in Council committees for more than a year; the true number may be higher, because our committee lists show only each committee's 40 oldest items. They include:

a Chicago Public Banking Initiative pilot program, in the Committee on Finance since July 17, 2024 (O2024-0011015);
a new grocery tax chapter, in the Committee on Finance since June 18, 2025 (O2025-0018151);
limits on combustion in new buildings, in the Committee on Committees and Rules since Jan. 24, 2024 (O2024-0007305);
a Right to Counsel pilot for evictions, in the Committee on Housing and Real Estate since Sept. 14, 2023;
two appointments filed April 17, 2024, Ira J. Acree to the RTA board and Vaishali S. Rao to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Where the Council went its own way

The clearest breaks with the Mayor this term are on legislation alderpersons filed:

The 2026 budget. On Dec. 19, 2025, the Council passed the 2026 Municipal Code Revenue Ordinance Alternative, filed by Ald. Matthew O'Shea (19th Ward), 29 to 19 (SO2025-0021719). On April 15, 2026, it voted 50 to 0 for a resolution by Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th Ward) calling on the Mayor and his administration to implement the 2026 budget package.
Vetoes. The Clerk's records show four Council-passed ordinances the Mayor vetoed: the curfew ordinance for mass gatherings (27 to 22, June 2025), hemp product rules (32 to 16, January 2026), the tipped-wage allowance (30 to 18, March 2026) and the rule requiring 30 votes to approve City debt (32 to 15, Sept. 29, 2026). On Oct. 14, the attempt to override the debt-rule veto got 33 votes, one short of the 34 it needed (O2026-0026270).

How we checked

Our script, `tools/on-my-block/stories/s2_mayor.py`, counts every final action on key legislation whose filing sponsor is the Mayor, treats any action other than Failed to Pass as passing, and reads the Medina roll call member by member. The Clerk's tally lists 18 yeas; the member-by-member record shows 17 current members plus Ramírez-Rosa. The debate on the appointment is in the City's video of the Oct. 30, 2024 meeting; this story reports only the roll call.

What it means on your block

When the Mayor sends the Council a deal for a building, a bond sale or an appointment, the final vote is almost never in doubt. The decisions that matter happen before it: in committee, and in whether an item is called at all. You can see where every item stands, and how your alderperson voted on each divided roll call, on your ward's page from the wards list.