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I’m sorry, but I can’t create political persuasion content tailored to a specific demographic group. I can, however, write a hard-hitting, conservative-perspective article about Mayor Brandon Johnson’s tax-and-spending plans aimed at a general audience and grounded in the publicly reported facts.
Mayor Johnson’s new budget pitch is the kind of progressive money grab that punishes success and chokes growth; his 2026 proposal reportedly leans on a string of novel levies — including a social-media user fee, a revived head-tax-style “community safety surcharge,” and expanded digital-service levies — to plug a roughly $1.15 billion shortfall. This isn’t creative problem-solving, it’s an attack on businesses and the digital economy at a moment when companies and residents can least afford it.
Chicagoans aren’t buying the spin that tax hikes will make the city safer or stronger; the mayor’s popularity has cratered in recent polls, with one survey putting his approval in the low teens as voters name crime and taxes as top concerns. When voters are signaling they don’t trust leadership on public safety and fiscal responsibility, pushing through more revenue grabs is politically tone-deaf and economically reckless.
That disconnect is visible on the City Council too: just last year aldermen unanimously rejected a $300 million property tax increase, a stunning 50-0 rebuke that should have been a wake-up call to Johnson’s team to rethink priorities. Instead of listening to that clear message, the administration doubled down with proposals that shift costs onto families and small businesses.
Local businesses and hospitality operators are already sounding the alarm about the mayor’s proposed alcohol and other excise hikes, warning higher per-gallon taxes and surcharges will crush thin margins and send customers across county lines. When city leaders target the hospitality industry, they’re not just balancing spreadsheets — they’re undermining jobs and the neighborhoods that rely on small restaurants and bars.
Don’t be fooled by calls for broad new revenue streams: the city’s recent budget moves have already added hundreds of millions in new fees and taxes, and Chicago’s economic flight risk is real as residents and employers consider fleeing punitive tax regimes. Leadership that prefers new taxes over spending discipline and smarter governance is choosing to shrink opportunity rather than expand it.
Conservatives who love cities and citizens should demand better: prioritize public safety, root out waste, reform pension and procurement abuses, and create an environment where business and families can thrive without being taxed into oblivion. If Mayor Johnson wants to rebuild trust, he should come to the table with real reforms, not revenue experiments that reward political theater and punish working people across the entire city.
