I mean, what even is that?
I guess I should also tell you it wasn’t my idea, but the Bear of Little Brains who runs Chicago’s.
There was Mayor Brandon Johnson, the fragile and incompetent creature that he is, looking like a deer in the headlights after his promise not to raise property taxes got busted by Chicago’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), saying, ‘Well, yeah.’
Gonna hafta raise taxes cuz we’re, like, broke.
WATCH: Here’s a supercut of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson promising voters he would not hike property taxes.
Today his CFO told Bloomberg News that a property tax hike is “likely” in this year’s budget.
So what changed?
Johnson caved to demands from his largest campaign… https://t.co/bQ0Db0qlFP pic.twitter.com/6U0SSKdqLY
— Austin Berg (@Austin__Berg) July 23, 2025
…Johnson caved to demands from his largest campaign funder and former employer: the Chicago Teachers Union.
Oh, that daggum Chicago Teachers Union. They sure seem to pop up whenever there’s a mess involving money, don’t they?
In any event, Johnson was trying to get out ahead of the firestorm beginning after the CFO’s comments, and calm down some of the raw nerves Chicagoans are feeling about his handling of crisis after crisis in the city.
I’m not going to ask for a tax increase, Hizzonor pinkie swears. They should really be worried now, because Johnson says he’s decided he’s going to get creative to find the money.
Hasn’t that been half the problem already? The mayor was breaking out the progressive-speak, which explained precisely nothing.
Mayor Brandon Johnson addressed members of the media Friday for the first time since announcing he won’t propose a property tax increase next year for Chicago homeowners.
Johnson spoke about his decision Friday on WGN Morning News. He says he’s looking for other sources of progressive revenue to address the city’s $1.2 billion budget deficit.
“We’re going to work to build the safest, most affordable big city in America. We’re going to create a budget that reflects our values, and we’re not going to balance that budget off the backs of working people,” Johnson said.
Just hours later, the mayor shared similar remarks at an event in the 49th Ward.
“We’re going to find and work with the city council to come up with progressive revenue ideas. I have a number of them, and we’re going to receive that collective proposals,” Johnson said.
Although you might want to keep an ear to the ground if you make a half-decent living in the city. It looks as if it’s another round of ‘pay your fair share’ coming up, and that definition of what constitutes ‘wealthy’ and ‘ultra-rich’ keeps creeping downwards into ‘just making it’ territory.
…Where all the money would come from for Johnson to keep the city running in 2026 remains uncertain. Property taxes are among the city’s largest sources of revenue. Earlier, Johnson did not rule out asking Gov. JB Pritzker for help.
…Johnson also hinted at a tax on the area’s wealthiest people and corporations to help fill the gap.
“We’re going to look at everything, but the most important thing that we have to focus on is that we have the ultra-rich in this city, in this state, that have not put enough skin in the game,” Johnson said. “And when we look at budget deficits across the country, we’re seeing a stronger call for the wealthy to actually pay their fair share.”
Eat the Rich, man.
Mayor with the lowest approval rating in US history, Chicago’s Brandon Johnson, says the most important thing for him to do is raise taxes.
He says that the wealthy don’t pay enough.
In 2022, the top 1% paid over 40 percent of all federal income taxes.
(mayorofchi on TT) pic.twitter.com/9i22KYEe5A
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) July 27, 2025
Oh, what a cutting-edge idea, dude.
Keep taxing those businesses and the wealthy right out of the city and the state. Those plans have been working great so far.
In 2023, Chicago lost Fortune 500 companies, and the business environment is so dire, even the venerable Chicago Mercantile Exchange is considering leaving. That institution has a lease clause allowing it to exit if taxes get any worse. Oh, hello.
Freight railroad car company TTX is moving its headquarters from Chicago’s West Loop to North Carolina. It adds to the growing list of corporate departures after Caterpillar, Citadel, Boeing, Tyson Foods and Guggenheim Partners.
The announcement came jointly from TTX and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, revealing the company will establish its new main office in Charlotte next year. The move creates 150 jobs and represents a $14.5 million investment by TTX.
Although TTX will transfer top executives from the current office at 101 N. Wacker Drive, there is a possibility some employees will remain in Chicago and work remotely.
TTX’s decision underscores a troubling trend of high-profile headquarters losses for Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. Last year major corporations such as Caterpillar, Citadel, Boeing and Tyson Foods announced relocations out of the Chicago area. Guggenheim Partners more quietly made moves to leave the city and join fellow investment firm Citadel in Miami.
…The list of departures could grow if Chicago Mercantile Exchange also leaves. CME CEO Terry Duffy said a clause in its lease states if taxes get worse, it could break its lease and leave its namesake city.
Illinois residents and small business owners have had enough and are beating feet out of the state at a record pace. Go ahead, raise those taxes some more.
Illinois’ constant bleed of residents to other states has been well documented by the Census Bureau, the IRS, U-Haul, United Van Lines and others.
Now the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has released data that shows businesses are leaving Illinois, too.
Illinois lost a net 208 single-establishment firms to out-migration in 2021, the 3rd-worst loss behind only New York (-487) and California (-456).
…Wirepoints also calculated the business gains/losses per 1 million residents to take into account state size. Illinois ranked 2nd-worst nationally, with only New York experiencing a bigger loss. The full data table of all states is included in the appendix below.
The BLS report only tracked single-establishment firms, which likely underestimates the gains and losses from the movement of headquarters and other large firm workforces.
Mayor Bear of Little Brains is doubling down on the argle-bargle when asked to explain vurt da furk ‘progressive revenue’ means. Nobody has a clue, and it’s pretty clear everyone wants to know.
…When asked about what he meant about progressive revenue, Johnson said, “What I can say is there are too many loopholes in this city that allow for the ultra-rich and corporations to get away without having to pay their fair share in taxes. My proposal is going to reflect the values of working people. We are going to make sure we make these necessary investments to build more affordable homes, to invest in our youth, to make sure that we are investing in mental and behavioral healthcare services, that we are addressing community safety.”
VURT DA FURK
Talk about your non-answer and about what you’d expect.
Well, besides the property tax, etc, increases they should expect – you know they’re coming.
As soon as someone says something like…
…Johnson also said closing the budget gap is not just about revenue.
…you know it’s ALL ‘about the revenue.’
Congratulations Chicago Trib. You got the picture of Johnson right. This promise is laughable. pic.twitter.com/2U7SCSiWDn
— Jeanne Ives (@JeanneIves) July 25, 2025
In the meantime, sneaky smokers on the Metro – watch out.
Brandon Johnson will use the full force of the government against smokers. pic.twitter.com/uBfMAHDDku
— Goofies Of Chicago (@Chicago_Goofies) July 28, 2025
Johnson’s coming for you because he can’t think of a damn thing better to do.
What a clown show.
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