Broke Chicago lawmakers propose plan to charge residents $1.25 for every package they have delivered

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Broke Chicago lawmakers propose plan to charge residents $1.25 for every package they have delivered.. after spending $600m on migrants

Daily Mail
By SONYA GUGLIARA
1 December 2025



A group of Chicago lawmakers have proposed a $1.25 package delivery fee as they battle the mayor over his controversial budget plan - just months after the city dropped nearly $640 million on migrants.

With the 2026 spending plan's December 31 deadline rapidly approaching, Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson has been at odds with the sanctuary city's moderate and conservative council members.

Chicago is facing a roughly $1.15 billion projected shortfall for the upcoming year. In response to the staggering deficit, Johnson proposed a $16.6 billion budget to close the shortfall.

But a significant aspect of his plan - a proposed $21 monthly tax per employee for companies with 100 or more workers - was struck down by the Finance Committee last month over concerns that it would drive corporations out of the city.

For a budget to pass, a majority of Chicago's 50-person council must vote in favor. 

Later this week, a small group of council members attempted to solidify an alternative budget, which does not include a corporate head tax, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

In response to Johnson’s denied $21 employee head tax, council member Alderman Gilbert Villegas proposed an initiative that would potentially charge residents $1.25 for every package delivered.

Other local officials, including Finance Chair Alderman Scott Waguespack and Alderman Matt O’Shea, have joined Villegas in crafting a proposal different from Johnson's.

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15343265/Chicago-lawmakers-budget-plan-ground-delivery-fee.html