Chicago City Wire

The city budget presented by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel does not include any major tax increases, but it does call for three new or increased taxes and does not adequately address pension costs, according to the Better Government Association’s Jose Sanchez.

Sanchez discussed the new taxes and the effectiveness of the new budget with Stacey Baca of ABC7 WLS-TV Chicago on "Weekend Watch" recently.

“While I think we see a relief on the usual major tax increases, we don’t see pensions being addressed,” Sanchez said. “And when you don’t address pensions, what happens is that kind of adds up, and you’re going to have to deal with it at some point. So I think not addressing it might hurt us in the long term.”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

Emanuel’s budget does not include major tax increases partly because the City Council had already voted to put taxes and tax increases in place, according to the Chicago Sun Times. The three new taxes he called for will be applied to ride share services, telephones and cellphones, and large event venues.

“(A) couple of cents are going to be added to any ride share or cab service that you take,” Sanchez said. “So if you’re a person that likes to take an Uber pool to work, a Lyft line to work, it’s going to hit you in your pocket.”

According to the Sun Times, the tax is a 15-cent increase on ride-sharing fees starting next year and increasing to 20 cents in 2019. Revenue raised from this surcharge will go to the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA).

“The second tax item is $1.10 is going to be added every month to cellphones and land lines,” Sanchez said. “Again, when I look at my cel phone bill, I see all these taxes. Sometimes I don’t even know what they all are. You’re going to find a new one at the end of the bill if the budget passes.”

The tax could lead to an additional $66 per year in taxes for a family of four, considering four cellphones and one land line, the Sun Times said. 

The final levy would see concertgoers and game attendees pay an increased tax on tickets. The amusement tax on larger venues, encompassing sports arenas and large downtown theaters, will increase from 5 percent to 9 percent, while neighborhood theaters seating fewer than 1,500 people would not be affected.

“(It)is a tax cut for small venues, but an increase for larger venues like the United Center,” Sanchez said.

The city will also add $1.5 million to its fight against rats, with $1 million going to rodent control and $500,000 going to replacing damaged garbage carts, according to the Sun Times. Sanchez argued that adding more money to the fight has not successfully curbed the rat population.

“Right now, there are opportunities for the city and the county to both save money and not have to go through those serious tax increases,” Sanchez said. “For example, right now, the city and county both have separate mechanic workshops where they service city and county vehicles. One idea is to combine the two and maybe sell some vehicles that the city and county could share.”

Sanchez also suggested combining elections but acknowledged that that step would involve more coordination and state-level approvals.