Finance

No budget deal in sight as Johnson’s finance team pokes holes in alders’ plan

Published

4 months ago

December 4, 2025

No budget deal in sight as Johnson’s finance team pokes holes in alders’ plan

It’s clear Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago City Council are no closer to reaching a budget deal, as top financial officials in the mayor’s administration have largely rejected the alternative budget plan presented by council members.

The 2026 budget plan needs to be approved by the mayor and at least 26 of the 50 alders by the end of the year. In October, Johnson presented his plan, which included a $21 per employee corporate head tax on the city’s largest companies each month, plus a host of other taxes. A month later, the mayor’s revenue ideas were soundly rejected by the council’s Finance Committee.

Alders began crafting their own plan, and 26 of them signed a letter Tuesday presenting an alternative proposal. The alternate plan took out the corporate head tax, replacing it instead with items like an increased garbage fee, with an exemption for seniors, and an increased liquor tax at liquor stores.

The mayor’s financial team — Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski, Budget Director Annette Guzman and City Comptroller Michael Belsky — responded to the alders Thursday, thanking them for their plan but rebuking several of their proposals, saying, for example, that an improved debt collection plan, is “not supported by legal, financial, or operational realities.” The mayor’s administration said increasing the garbage collection fee from $9.50 to $18 per month would represent a 90 percent increase in a year, which would be a financial hardship for families.

“At a time when many communities are already experiencing substantial property tax increases through the recent property assessments conducted by the Cook County Assessor and the appeals approved by the Board of Review, imposing another major cost escalation would create an immediate and disproportionate burden on households least able to absorb it,” Jaworski, Guzman and Belsky wrote in a joint statement to the 26 alders.

The mayor’s team also made it clear the corporate head tax — which it calls a “Community Safety Surcharge” — will stay in the budget proposal, despite objections from more than half the council. Opponents of the head tax call it a “job killer.” The mayor’s team challenged that notion, saying the assertion that it would “disincentivize economic growth is not substantiated by data.”

“The assumption that corporate taxation directly affects employment growth lacks empirical support. By investing in proven community safety interventions, we are making Chicago better for businesses. A progressive revenue like the Community Safety Surcharge, one that asks those who have benefited the most from the city’s growth and prosperity to contribute their fair share, is not a threat to prosperity, but a prerequisite,” Jaworski, Guzman and Belsky wrote in a joint statement to the 26 alders.

Ald. Nicole Lee and Ald. Scott Waguespack responded to the mayor’s administration’s rebuke of their alternate proposal, disagreeing with their assessment.

“The mayor’s office has offered no new ideas – only criticisms of our work. This is not anyone’s idea of actual collaboration,” Lee said.

“It is time for Mayor Johnson to accept the reality that his budget is not going to pass as is,” Waguespack said. “We will take the necessary steps required to move this process forward on our own.”

The city paid the accounting firm Ernst and Young $3 million to outline efficiencies that could help Chicago close its billion-dollar gap in its $16 billion 2026 budget. Among the options in the report: consolidating city purchasing and fleet management, streamlining city departments and better managing health care costs.

Alders have urged Johnson to adopt more recommendations from the report, but his finance team responded in their memo Thursday, saying, “It is important to note that the City’s Financial and Strategic Reform Options report presents a set of options for consideration—not mandates.”

The mayor’s administration noted that it has made changes to its own initial proposal, including the full restoration of the Chicago Public Library’s circulation budget, additional money for the advanced pension payment, more funding for community programs and upping a program that helps low-income people with disabilities make their homes more accessible.

Related Topics:Brandon Johnson chicago city council

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Finance

New Funding Models Needed As Global Health Faces Growing Financial Strain – Health Policy Watch

Published

9 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

New Funding Models Needed As Global Health Faces Growing Financial Strain – Health Policy Watch

Christoph Benn (left) and Patrick Silborn

Global health is facing a funding crisis. Aid is shrinking, debt is rising, and the needs are only increasing. According to Christoph Benn of the Joep Lange Institute and Patrik Silborn of UNICEF Afghanistan, health systems will need to fundamentally rethink how they finance and sustain care.

On a recent episode of the Global Health Matters podcast, host Gary Aslanyan was joined by these two experts, who said “innovative finance” has become central to discussions on sustaining health systems.

Benn said that while the term is widely used, few agree on what it actually means. He described it as a “spectrum” of approaches, ranging from philanthropic grants and conditional funding to private-sector investment models that expect financial returns.

“It has frustrated us deeply that so many people are talking about innovative finance, but very few actually know what they’re talking about,” Benn said.

Silborn emphasised that these mechanisms should not be treated as one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, financing models must be designed around specific problems whether that means raising new funds, improving efficiency, or linking payments to measurable outcomes.

Drawing on his experience in Rwanda, Silborn described how a results-based funding model tied disbursements directly to performance, helping the country to maintain progress against major diseases despite reduced funding.

Both experts stressed that private-sector engagement requires a clear understanding of incentives.

“Private corporations are not charities,” Benn said. They can, however, contribute through marketing partnerships, technical expertise, or investment models that align financial returns with social outcomes.
Looking ahead, Benn pointed to targeted taxes and debt swaps as among the most scalable tools. Still, both warned that innovative finance is not a substitute for public responsibility.

“It only works when it is designed to solve real problems in specific contexts,” Benn said, underscoring that strong systems and governance remain essential to any lasting solution.

Listen to the full episode >>

Read more about Global Health Matters podcasts on Health Policy Watch >>

Image Credits: Global Health Matters podcast.

Combat the infodemic in health information and support health policy reporting from the global South. Our growing network of journalists in Africa, Asia, Geneva and New York connect the dots between regional realities and the big global debates, with evidence-based, open access news and analysis. To make a personal or organisational contribution click here.

Finance

Coalition urges lawmakers to advance South Carolina Financial Freedom Act

Published

21 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Coalition urges lawmakers to advance South Carolina Financial Freedom Act

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCIV) — Dozens of local elected officials from across South Carolina are urging state lawmakers to pass legislation that would allow cities, counties and school districts to deposit taxpayer funds in the financial institution of their choice, including qualified credit unions.

The Palmetto Public Deposits Coalition, formed by more than 40 mayors, county council members and municipal leaders have signed a joint letter calling on the General Assembly to advance the South Carolina Financial Freedom Act, a bill that, if signed, would lift long-standing restrictions that require public entities to deposit funds exclusively in commercial banks, even though state law already allows credit unions to accept public deposits.

The coalition argues the current system limits competition and prevents local governments from seeking potentially better rates, lower fees and more responsive service.

READ MORE | Lowcountry residents feel squeeze as inflation rises 25% over five years

“Local governments should have the same financial freedom that families and businesses have — the ability to choose the financial institution that best meets their needs,” Rick Osborn, chairman of the Palmetto Public Deposits Coalition, explained. “This commonsense reform will introduce healthy competition, help stretch taxpayer dollars further, and strengthen partnerships with community-focused financial institutions that are deeply invested in South Carolina.”

The efforts also won support from the South Carolina Association of Counties and the Municipal Association of South Carolina, whose boards have formally endorsed expanding deposit options. Their backing signals broad agreement among local government officials that the law should be modernized.

In their letter to lawmakers, the coalition argued that permitting credit unions to hold public deposits would restore financial choice and improve outcomes for residents.

“This legislation is about giving local leaders more tools to serve residents effectively and make responsible financial decisions,” said Goose Creek Mayor Greg Habib, one of the signatories.

READ MORE | Treasury to hold conferences on AI regulation reductions for banks

The Financial Freedom Act would allow, but not require, public entities to deposit funds in qualified credit unions. Coalition members said the bill is not designed to favor one type of institution over another, but to encourage competition in a market currently limited to commercial banks, many of which operate outside the state.

The Palmetto Public Deposits Coalition said it will continue working with local leaders, state associations and lawmakers as the legislation moves through the current session.

Finance

FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks muted as Trump delays strikes on Iran power plants

Published

1 day ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks muted as Trump delays strikes on Iran power plants

The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was hovering around the flatline on Friday, while European stocks headed lower, as traders shrugged off Donald Trump’s latest pause on striking Iran’s energy infrastructure.

On Thursday night, the US president extended the deadline for Iran to open the strait of Hormuz by 10 days, meaning the new date would be 6 April. He claimed that talks were “going very well”. However, Iran denied it was “begging to make a deal”, despite Trump’s earlier claims.

It comes after Wall Street posted its biggest daily loss since the Iran war began on Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal also reported on Thursday that the US was considering sending as many as 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East.

Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG, said Trump has extended the uncertainty gripping markets.

“While the rhetoric around de-escalation and dialogue is certainly preferable to outright conflict, the market appears to be growing increasingly numb to President Trump’s verbal reassurances. By extending the deadline, it effectively kicks the can down the road, pushing back any concrete resolution regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. This, in turn, simply extends the uncertainty weighing on markets and the broader global economy.”

Elsewhere, UK retail sales dipped by 0.4% in February, following a rise of 2.0% in January, the Office for National Statistics revealed. In the December to February quarter, sales volumes were up 0.7% compared with the previous three months.

London’s benchmark index (^FTSE) was hovering around the flatline in early trade
Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) dipped 0.5% and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris headed 0.2% into the red
The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was down 0.3%
Wall Street is set for a muted start as S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow futures (YM=F) and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all lacklustre.
The pound was 0.1% down against the US dollar (GBPUSD=X) at 1.3311

Follow along for live updates throughout the day:

LIVE 4 updates

Consumer confidence in Britain slips in March

GfK revealed on Friday that the UK confidence index fell two points to -21 in March – the weakest level since Donald Trump announced sweeping import tariffs in April last year. At the time, the index sank to -23.
Neil Bellamy, the firm’s consumer insights director, said the survey showed people are concerned about the prospects for inflation and the economy.
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The group said the sharp rise in energy prices caused by the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz and attacks on infrastructure in the region “has led to fears of higher inflation and weaker growth across oil-importing countries”.
A majority of respondents said the economy had improved modestly over the last year, but was about to decline significantly. They said they were likely to save more and spend less on big ticket items over the next 12 months as a result.
UK retail sales dip amid wet weather and weaker supermarket trading

UK retail sales decreased in February as supermarket sales slipped and demand for household goods was impacted by wet weather, according to official figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total volume of retail sales, which measures the quantity bought, fell by 0.4% last month.
It compared with a 2% rise in January, which was revised up from a previous estimate of 1.8%.
The monthly decline in February was nevertheless shallower than expected, with analysts having predicted a drop of 0.7% for the month.
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A fall in supermarket sales partly contributed to the fresh monthly decline, falling by 0.6%.
All food stores, which includes convenience stores and specialist retailers, reported a 0.7% decline in sales volumes, marking the weakest level since August last year.
Elsewhere, the data showed that household goods stores saw weaker demand, dropping by 2.6%, with retailers partly blaming “wet weather” for reduced demand.
Met Office data indicated that the UK, had above average rainfall in February 2026, more so than in either January this year or the previous February.
Non-store retailers also reported a slight dip over the month, with retailers suggesting that consumers brought forward spending to January to make the most of post-Christmas discounts.
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Matt Dalton, consumer sector leader at Forvis Mazars, said:
Asia and US overnight

Stocks in Asia were mixed overnight, stuck in a wait and see mode, with the Nikkei (^N225) fell 0.4% on the day in Japan, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) rose 0.4% in Hong Kong.
The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 0.6% up by the end of the session and in South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) lost 0.4% on the day. Part of the Kospi’s weakness was also due to the ongoing sell-off in South Korean chipmaker stocks from Google’s memory chip announcement.
Across the pond, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped 1.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 2.4% down, both seeing their biggest declines since the start of the war and fell back to their lowest levels since September. The Dow Jones (^DJI) ended 1% lower, while the VIX index rose 2.11 points to 27.44pts, its highest since 6 March.
Part of the Wall Street selloff was also driven by the ongoing rout from Tuesday’s announcement that Google had found a new algorithm that could reduce the memory chip amount needed in AI models.
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Coming up

Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what’s moving markets and what’s happening across the global economy.
To the day ahead we’ll get the US March Kansas City Fed services activity, UK February retail sales. Central bank events include the ECB consumer expectations survey, and the Fed’s Daly and Paulson will speak.
Here’s a snapshot of what’s on the agenda today:

7am: UK retail sales for February

9am: ECB Consumer Inflation Expectations survey

2pm: University of Michigan consumer confidence report