As Mayoral Campaigns Spar on City Finances, Alderman Admits Property Tax Increase Likely
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The mayoral run-off campaign took an unexpected turn Monday, as one alderman hinted property tax increases are likely in the works no matter who's elected.
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine asked the question that led to the revelation. Levine reports the mayor's allies were forced off message with a little help from reporters as they demanded answers from Chuy Garcia on how he plans to pay for his campaign promises to hire police officers, remove red light cameras.
"We're at a time now, the taxpayers certainly are, where they wanna see the beef and all we've gotten from Mr. Garcia is a lot of baloney," said 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly.
Budget Committee Chair Carrie Austin was front and center, with a chart which purported to show what Garcia's proposals would cost taxpayers. The bottom line: a $1,900 property tax increase on the average homeowner to balance the budget.
"For someone to say that we're gonna hire a thousand police officers, we're not gonna make any changes in the pensions and taxes are totally off the table says to me you either A: you don't get it or B: you're lying," said 47th Ward Alderman Ameya Pawar.
Garcia says he will share a financial plan this week. The Cook County commissioner had just won the endorsement of the Reverend Jesse Jackson and a number of other Black ministers and elected officials who took a walk through a 16th Ward neighborhood, with abandoned homes and garbage filled lots, and neglected residents.
Garcia's campaign called the tax hike talk, scare tactics, though the talk wasn't limited to Garcia, as we also grilled the mayor's supporters how he was going to deal with costs like the $500 million balloon payment coming due.
"We will all have to bear some of the burden, be it the pensioners, be it we the homeowners," said 34th Ward Alderman Carrie Austin.
When asked if a property tax increase is coming, Austin said, "I believe we can truly say that it will happen, but it is all in how much."
The outcome wasn't exactly what the mayor's campaign strategists had envisioned, though they'll get what they want later this week, when Garcia promises to reveal his financial plan so voters can decide whose vision saves the most dollars and makes the most sense.
