Politics

City Council Fails to Override Mayor’s Veto of Plan to Require 30 City Council Votes to Take on New Debt

The Chicago City Council failed Wednesday to override Mayor Brandon Johnson’s veto of a measure that would have required at least 30 alderpeople to vote to approve any plan to borrow more money in an attempt to make it harder for the city to take on additional debt.

The effort to override Johnson’s veto failed by just one vote.

The Chicago City Council voted 32-15 on Sept. 30 to require new borrowing to be approved by a three-fifths vote of the City Council, rather than a simple majority of 26 votes.

The measure was authored by Ald. Marty Quinn (13th Ward), who has long been critical of the mayor’s handling of the city’s finances, which have long been out of whack, pinched by soaring pension costs, spiraling personnel costs and a massive amount of debt.

Johnson told reporters that if the measure was allowed to take effect it would stop investment flowing to the West and South sides of Chicago.

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th Ward), the chair of the Budget Committee, passionately urged his colleagues not to allow the measure to take effect, saying it would make Chicago less democratic and disempower Black and Latino Chicagoans.

“A minority of the council now will hold the key to how the city can invest in itself,” Ervin said.

When the City Council served as a rubber stamp for decades under former Mayors Richard J. Daley, Richard M. Daley and Rahm Emanuel, the city invested very little in neighborhoods home to a majority Black and Latino Chicagoans. At that time, there were just 14 Black and Latino members of the City Council, Ervin reminded his colleagues.

Today, there are 14 White members of the City Council.

“This history and this city has never been kind to Black and Latino communities,” Ervin said, blasting the move as an effort to curtail the mayor’s power. “But now, this council is as diverse as it has ever been. Well, guess who’s the 14 now?”

After supporters said the measure is a way for the City Council to operate more independently of the mayor and that it would help put the city on firmer financial footing, Ervin dismissed those arguments.

“This is not independence,” Ervin said. “This is a veto with better branding.”

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) chided Ervin for using “divisive language” during the debate.

The measure is not targeted at Johnson, said Reilly, a frequent critic of Johnson.

“It’s a fantasy being pushed ... that this would somehow paralyze any new infrastructure for the development in the city,” Reilly said.

Johnson referred to the measure as a “three-fifths compromise,” but declined to tell reporters whether he was implying that supporters of the measure were racist.

The “three-fifths compromise” is best known as the agreement reached in 1787 to count three out of every five enslaved people toward a state’s total population as part of the U.S. Constitution.

In April 2024, 32 members of the City Council voted to borrow $1.25 billion through 2028 to fund a wide-ranging slate of projects designed to expand the supply of affordable homes and good-paying jobs.

However, in February 2025, just 26 alderpeople voted to borrow $830 million to repair Chicago’s crumbling streets, sidewalks and bridges after weeks of controversy. Had that measure been rejected, the city would have no clear way to pay to repave roads, fix cracked sidewalks, renovate police and fire stations and replace police cruisers and fire trucks for the foreseeable future.

Other Vetoes 

Since 2020, the City Council twice agreed to borrow a total of $3.25 billion to repair Chicago’s infrastructure with nowhere near as much controversy.

Johnson has vetoed ordinances that would have allowed the Chicago Police Department to impose a curfew with less than 30 minutes’ notice; would have banned the sale of most intoxicating hemp products throughout the city; and would reverse a 2023 City Council vote to phase out the tipped minimum wage.

In addition, Johnson allowed the $16.6 billion spending plan approved by the City Council over his objections to take effect in 2026 without his signature.

While efforts to expand CPD’s curfew powers have stalled, a state law imposed the bulk of the regulations on hemp that were included in the ordinance vetoed by Johnson.

In addition, Johnson did not veto a measure that delayed the end of the tipped minimum wage for an additional two years after he vetoed the total rollback. Tipped workers in Chicago will not get another city-ordered wage boost until July 1, 2028.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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