“We may not have the majority of the City Council but we do have the people,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said just before the the Chicago City Council voted to approve a budget he fiercely opposed.

Mayor Brandon Johnson stopped short Friday of promising to veto that spending plan but said he has “serious and significant concerns about the plan, which he and the city’s top financial officials contend would leave the city with a deficit of more than $163 million.

While Mayor Brandon Johnson weighed what could be the biggest decision of his time as mayor, the Civic Federation said the proposed "budget does not move Chicago appreciably toward long-term fiscal stability."

Mayor Brandon Johnson called the plan speculative, infeasible and immoral, but has yet to announce whether he would veto the plan. It would take 34 votes to override that rejection.

Mayor Brandon Johnson immediately rejected the proposal to increase the city’s debt collection efforts as a tax “on everyday Chicagoans” that would target “poor and working” people.

There are just 15 days left before the deadline to avoid an unprecedented shutdown of Chicago city government.

Over the objections of the mayor, the Chicago City Council agreed to meet Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Dec. 23 in an attempt to hammer out a deal over the $16.6 billion spending plan.

The current proposal would impose a $33 per employee tax on companies with 500 or more employees to generate $82 million to fund violence prevention and youth employment programs.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said he was open to new ideas and continuing negotiations but said he would not allow the city’s budget to be balanced “on the backs of working people.”

The latest back-and-forth between the mayor’s office and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s critics leaves no clear path to a deal with just 26 days left before the deadline to avoid an unprecedented shutdown of city government.

Even as City Council members returned to City Hall on Tuesday after the Thanksgiving holiday, there is no clear path to a deal with just 28 days left before the deadline to avoid an unprecedented shutdown of city government.

Chicago Budget Director Annette Guzman joined “Chicago Tonight” to discuss the budget negotiations.

Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling told the Chicago City Council on Nov. 5 that he was confident that CPD would be able to spend no more than $200 million on overtime in 2026.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to impose $623 million in new taxes on the wealthiest Chicagoans and largest firms remains in purgatory, with no clear path to a deal with just 41 days left before the deadline to avoid a shutdown of city government.

Alds. Daniel La Spata (1st Ward), William Hall (6th Ward) and Bill Conway (34th Ward) joined “Chicago Tonight” to discuss the ongoing budget negotiations. Here’s a snapshot of where they stand.

The refusal of the City Council’s Finance Committee to advance Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed spending plan is another sign there is no clear consensus on the bulk of Johnson’s proposal to impose $623 million in new taxes on the wealthiest Chicagoans and largest firms.