Chicago mayor refuses to sign or veto budget at ‘not a campaign event’

(The Center Square) – A new Chicago budget is set to take effect, even though the city’s mayor refused to sign it.

Flanked by Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates and several aldermanic allies, Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday he would not sign or veto the budget passed by the city council last Saturday, but he would let it take effect to avoid risk or speculation of a government shutdown.

The $16.7 billion spending plan includes higher taxes on cloud computing, liquor and plastic bags, along with rideshare surcharges and and a roughly $1 billion sweep of tax-increment financing funds to Chicago Public Schools.

The “alternative” budget passed by aldermen did not include a corporate head tax proposed by the mayor. The measure would have imposed a $33 per-employee monthly tax on businesses with more than 500 workers.

“Despite the fact that there was one particular element that the people of Chicago overwhelmingly supported that we were not able to hold...