Dozens of Chicago alderpeople are expected to vote down Mayor Brandon Johnson's proposed $300 million property tax hike proposal during a special city council meeting on Thursday. Mayor Brandon Johnson wouldn't commit on Tuesday when asked if he would support possible alternatives to his proposal to raise property taxes to close a nearly $1 billion budget gap for 2025.

The vote during a special meeting of the City Council was taken without any debate and comes two days after Mayor Brandon Johnson publicly backed away from the plan amid strong initial pushback, calling it just the start of a collaborative process.

The Chicago City Council on Thursday rejected Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to raise property taxes by $300 million that would have helped close a budget gap of nearly $1 billion for next year.

The city’s 50 alders on Thursday sent Mayor Brandon Johnson a strong message, unanimously rejecting a $300 million property tax hike he unveiled in his $17.3 billion city budget proposal last month.

In a special meeting, Chicago's City Council voted unanimously to remove the mayor's proposed $300 million property tax increase from the 2025 budget plan. Why it matters: The removal of the tax hike will force Mayor Brandon Johnson to make hard decisions on other ways to generate more revenue or where to make cuts to city services.

The overwhelming vote was largely symbolic. Negotiations to reduce or eliminate the property tax hike and replace it with a mix of new revenue and reprogrammed federal pandemic relief funds began last weekend.

Several aldermen have been critical of what they call Mayor Brandon Johnson's failure to collaborate on the budget. Charlie De Mar reports.