The City Council’s lopsided vote to increase the city’s pension payment opens a new hole in the city’s 2027 budget that must be closed with new spending cuts, new taxes or more borrowing.

Mayor Brandon Johnson unveiled his proposed $17.6 billion 2027 spending plan Wednesday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s resurrection of the so-called head tax — which was soundly rejected by the Chicago City Council a year ago — would impose a $25 per month per employee tax on all firms that have more than 125 employees, according to the proposal.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is running for reelection, has been under intense pressure to replace ShotSpotter, the city’s controversial gunshot detection system, which he scrapped two years ago, by members of the Chicago City Council.

The total cost of defending and resolving 32 lawsuits naming Guevara, who has been repeatedly accused of falsifying police reports, framing suspects and coercing witnesses, is now $472.8 million, according to a WTTW News analysis.

The Chicago City Council failed by one vote Wednesday to override Mayor Brandon Johnson’s veto of a measure that would have required at least 30 alderpeople to approve any plan to borrow more money.

After a three-week trial, a Cook County jury determined that the fatal injuries suffered by Dominga Flores Gomez, who was survived by five children and eight grandchildren, were the fault of the driver who refused to stop for police, records show.

“We’re all super motivated and we’re all super passionate, and so it’s not going to be something that fizzles out anytime soon,” said Robyn Detterline, advocacy chair with Chicago Ornithological Society.

“Neighborhoods with the greatest infrastructure needs should not face additional barriers to securing essential public investment,” Mayor Brandon Johnson wrote in his official veto measure. “Delaying infrastructure projects can increase construction costs, worsen deterioration and ultimately cost taxpayers more.”

Drivers blocking bicycle and bus lanes racked up nearly $4.5 million in fines since November 2024, when an effort to use automated cameras to make streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians launched downtown, according to city data.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city would refinance bonds backed by the city’s sales tax revenues that are at least 10 years old to generate between $65 million and $71 million. But that refinancing generated just $36 million, officials said.

It has already cost Chicago taxpayers at least $206 million to defend and settle 16 lawsuits naming former Chicago Police Department Detective Reynaldo Guevara, records show.

Chicago taxpayers should pay more than $260.8 million to 17 men who spent more than 383 years in prison after they were coerced into confessing to crimes by a disgraced former Chicago police detective, city lawyers recommended.

Chicago taxpayers have already spent at least $52 million since the start of 2026 to settle nine lawsuits brought by people who were injured or on behalf of those killed during police pursuits, according to an analysis of city data by WTTW News.

Here’s a breakdown of what it means that New York-based Stonepeak Partners is set to become the new owner of the city’s more than 36,000 meters.

Chicago’s finances have long been out of whack, pinched by soaring pension costs, spiraling personnel costs and a massive amount of debt.