Budget chair claims Mayor Johnson's corporate head tax isn't dead yet

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s corporate head tax is not dead — even after being voted down by the City Council’s Finance Committee — because his veto threat creates a threshold that cannot be overcome, a powerful mayoral ally said Wednesday.

Budget Committee Chair Jason Ervin (28th) pointed to Johnson’s central argument in defense of his proposed $21 a month per-employee head tax on companies with 100 or more employees: The only alternatives to a head tax are a property tax increase, higher garbage collection fees, a local version of the 1% grocery tax eliminated by the state, or police and fire department cutbacks.

Johnson has promised to veto a budget with any one of those elements, knowing that 34 votes are needed to override a mayoral veto. During a luncheon Wednesday hosted by the City Cl