The overwhelming vote was largely symbolic. Negotiations aimed at reducing or eliminating the property tax increase and replacing it with a healthy mix of new revenues and reprogrammed federal pandemic relief funds began last weekend.

Mayor Brandon Johnson is all but giving up on his proposed $300 million property tax hike before aldermen kill it, and pushing them to find other revenue in its place to avert layoffs. Johnson’s administration is combing over alternatives to the tax jump ahead of a meeting Wednesday where the City Council is expected to vote it down.

Dozens of aldermen called for a special meeting to vote down the mayor's proposed $300 million property tax increase.

Alders are expected to vote Thursday to reject Mayor Brandon Johnson's $300 million property tax hike, aimed at closing a $1 billion gap in the city's budget. Why it matters: The hike would boost taxes by 4.

Desperate to avoid hitting Chicago home and business owners with a $300 million property tax increase, aldermen pelted the mayor’s finance team Wednesday with questions about alternatives to plug the 2025 budget hole.