Chicago – December 25, 2025
A potential veto of Chicago’s 2026 budget by Mayor Brandon Johnson could trigger the Windy City’s first-ever municipal shutdown.
Johnson reportedly rebuked the budget passed by council over the weekend, which lacks the mayor’s favored per-employee “head tax” on corporations, as “morally bankrupt.”
If Johnson were to veto the budget, it would place the onus back on city council to rehash a plan that could get signed before Dec. 30 – or plunge the city into shutdown.
Chicago faces a projected $1.2 billion shortfall for 2026. Johnson has argued that policies under the Trump administration favor corporations over working-class families and that businesses should “put more skin in the game.”
