Politics
Chicago’s 2025 Budget Takes Effect, Forcing Chicagoans to Dig Deeper to Cover Everything From Parking to Netflix
(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
Chicagoans won’t see their 2025 property tax bills rise to cover the cost of a city-imposed hike, but they will have to dig deeper to cover a host of tax and fee hikes that a deeply divided Chicago City Council approved to fill a massive budget gap.
The $17.1 billion spending plan, which takes effect Wednesday, closed a $982.4 million gap without increasing property taxes, cutting jobs or slashing city services after fractious negotiations that brought the city to the brink of an unprecedented shutdown of city government. The budget itself passed 27-23 on Dec. 16, just 18 days before the deadline set by state law.
The city’s spending plan relies on tax and fees hikes of $165.5 million, including a 2% increase in the tax levied on software licenses, cloud services and other digital goods as well as a 1.25% increase on subscriptions to streaming and cable television services.
The largest tax hike included in the budget generates $128.1 million by hiking the tax levied on software licenses, cloud services and other digital goods from 9% to 11%, records show.
That tax is largely paid by large corporations, like Google, Amazon and Salesforce, rather than individual Chicagoans, officials said.
But Chicagoans who rely on streaming services will see their bills rise after the City Council agreed to hike the tax paid by subscribers from 9% to 10.25%, which is expected to add $12.9 million to the city’s coffers.
Getting around will also be a bit pricier for those who travel downtown.
The city expects to ring up an additional $11.3 million by hiking the tax paid by those who park in garages or use a valet service from 20% on weekends and 22% on weekdays to 23.25% throughout the week.
It will also be a bit more expensive to use a ride-hailing service to get, or leave, downtown. Passengers will pay a new $3 surcharge on ride-hailing trips that start or end in the Central Business District between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The current weekday surcharge would drop to $2.75 from $3. In all, those changes are expected to add $8.1 million to the city’s bottom line.
While many Chicago shoppers got out of the habit of bringing totes to the grocery store, it will cost more for a single-use paper or plastic bag in order to get your goods home. Shoppers will now pay 10 cents for each single-use paper and plastic bag, with retailers to keeping 1 cent to cover costs. In 2024, shoppers paid 7 cents per bag, while store owners kept 2 cents.
It will also cost more for Chicagoans to park in restricted residential areas. Permanent residents will pay $5 more for their city sticker, which allows them to park in the zone at all times. Another $5 hike is on tap for 2026, while Chicagoans older than of 65 will continue paying the current price of $25.
Replacements or zone changes will be significantly more costly, jumping from $5 to $20. The cost of guest parking passes will also rise from $8 to $15 for a sheet of 15 passes.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
