Majority of Chicago residents would vote against alders who support property tax hike, poll finds

CHICAGO - As members of the Chicago City Council have heard opposition to a potential property tax hike to close a nearly $1 billion budget gap for 2025, a group of alderpeople commissioned a poll to gauge the views of their constituents.

On Monday, the group of 14 alderpeople sent a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson detailing the findings of the poll, which found that 78% of respondents would be more likely to vote against their alderperson if they voted for a proposed $150 million property tax increase before trying to "right-size" the budget.

They also said the poll found that Johnson had a 15% favorability and 70% unfavorability rating among respondents. Only about 16% of respondents said they believed Johnson had collaborated on the budget. The mayor has styled himself as a "collaborator in chief."

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward), one of the signatories to the letter, said he hopes the poll’s findings get the mayor’s attention.

"I think it’s a wake-up call to a number of our colleagues that the voters have spoken in this poll," Reilly said. "A property tax increase is not what they want to see in balancing this year’s city budget."

The alderman said he and his colleagues have been hearing opposition to raising property taxes without finding cuts first from residents anecdotally for weeks. So the 14 alders got together to pay for the poll to "confirm what we thought we already knew," Reilly added.

Johnson promised in his 2023 campaign for mayor to not raise property taxes, but he went back on that promise this year to close the projected budget gap. He initially proposed a $300 million property tax increase but that received swift and overwhelming opposition from the City Council in the form of a 50-0 vote rejecting the plan.

So Johnson came back with a $150 million proposed increase, but the poll suggests that also wouldn’t fly with a majority of residents.

The poll was released on the same day the mayor unveiled a new plan to restore 162 jobs in the Chicago Police Department focused on implementing the police consent decree. This move comes after critics argued that his earlier proposal to cut those positions would hinder progress on police reform.

"We have a commitment to reform," Johnson said in a statement. "And we will continue to make the investments to fund our obligations under the consent decree."

A coalition of former city and state officials expressed support for the plan to restore the jobs, issuing a joint statement:

"We are pleased that the administration has committed to restore 162 civilian CPD positions that are critical to achieving the city’s Consent Decree compliance. Too much is at stake for our communities – we cannot afford to relent on police reform or risk the city being held in contempt of court for not meeting the Consent Decree mandates, as Attorney General Raoul has warned. As the administration and City Council continue their work to craft and approve a budget that meets the priorities of all Chicagoans, we will continue to advocate for both the restoration and funding of these positions to ensure that Chicago reaches full Consent Decree compliance."

A request for comment from Johnson’s office on the poll was not immediately returned.

Mobile users can click here to view the full poll results.