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Lightfoot Aims to Close $1.2B Gap with “Recovery” Budget
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday presented a $12.8-billion 2021 Budget to Chicago City Council. The mayor proposed a “modest” $94-million property tax increase and other measures to close a $1.2-billion budget deficit for next fiscal year, with 65% of the shortfall tied to the economic impacts of COVID-19.
“Some had predicted that this budget would be predicated on hundreds of millions of dollars in new property taxes,” Lightfoot said in prepared remarks. “Not so.”
In her address to City Council, Lightfoot spelled out specific ways that the pandemic “devastated parts of our economy.” Among other impacts, it led to a 77.5% decline in revenues from the hotel tax, a 49.5% decline in the amusement tax and a 48.5% decline in the motor vehicle fuel tax.
“Chicago’s 2021 Budget represents our city’s roadmap toward an inclusive and fiscally responsible recovery from the extensive challenges of the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis,” said Lightfoot.
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- ◦Economy
