Chicago City Wire

Paul Vallas, former CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, expressed concerns over Mayor Brandon Johnson's proposed budget for Chicago. He described it as regressive and warned it could lead to job losses and weakened public safety without significant investments or reforms. Vallas made these remarks on the social media platform X.

"The mayor's fiscal blueprint isn't progressive — it's regressive, reckless, and a betrayal of Chicago's future, and all but the mayor's far-left progressive allies see this," said Vallas, Former Chief Executive Officer. "Taxing businesses for their number of employees, raising what is already the highest tax on computer use and platforms, taxing people who have to drive is not progressive; it's a job killer. The Mayor's plan does nothing to restore police strength which has fallen 1,700 since 2019. Johnson's proposed budget will make things worse!"

The City of Chicago's fiscal year 2026 "Protecting Chicago" budget outlines several progressive revenue measures. These include reinstating a $21-per-employee "community safety surcharge," introducing a social-media user levy, and increasing cloud-computing and amusement taxes. The budget aims to avoid raising property taxes while utilizing a $1 billion Tax Increment Financing (TIF) surplus, with approximately half allocated to the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Spending priorities are set to include a $100 million Community Safety Fund alongside housing and mental health investments, as reported by the Mayor’s Office and detailed in the FY2026 Budget Summary.

According to the Civic Federation and WTTW, staffing levels within the Chicago Police Department have declined from a peak of approximately 13,353 sworn officers in January 2019 to around 11,600–11,700 by 2022–2024. This represents a reduction of about 1,700 officers. Additionally, vacancies related to consent-decree roles persisted into 2025. A Civic Federation analysis linked to the Office of Inspector General documented this decline, with WTTW reporting that 47% of 439 consent-decree positions remained vacant by mid-2025.

Illinois' overall business-tax structure ranks between 37th and 38th nationally according to the Tax Foundation's index for 2025–2026. Meanwhile, a study by COST/Ernst & Young for 2024 indicates that U.S. businesses paid $1.096 trillion in state-local taxes with detailed state burdens. Separately, Chicago raised its Personal Property Lease (cloud/SaaS) Tax to 11% effective January 1, 2025, and now proposes additional levies such as a $21 head tax and social-media levy.

Vallas is noted for his background in public finance and education leadership. Born in Chicago, he served as the first CEO of CPS from 1995–2001 before leading other educational districts such as Philadelphia's School District and Louisiana’s Recovery School District. He was also runner-up in Chicago’s mayoral runoff election in 2023 and has advised on public-sector finance initiatives.