CHICAGO — 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 ...

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

The mayor is open to a “plethora of ideas” so long as they don’t compromise his core values of “investing in people” through summer jobs, community safety, behavioral health and affordable housing but also avoiding layoffs and furlough days and continuing to make additional payments on

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is calling an audible, as he walks back his proposal for a $300 million property tax hike to balance the budget.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has a month and a half to get a new city budget passed, but he’s back to the drawing board after a $300 million property tax hike was rejected.

Johnson campaigned on a promise not to raise property taxes, but said he was left with no choice given the city's massive budget shortfall.

Twenty-two of the City Council’s 50 members met Saturday with top mayoral aides, including Johnson’s budget team, to begin negotiations that, some alderpersons said, should have started long before Johnson belatedly introduced his $17.

The address is expected to include a proposal for a property tax hike -- a plan that Johnson steadfastly promised against during his run for office.

Mayor Brandon Johnson is vowing to work with City Council members who are dead set on lowering or eliminating the property tax increase he has proposed.