Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $17.1 billion budget narrowly passed by the City Council this week doesn’t include a property tax increase, but it will still come at a cost to residents.
Heeding demands from the Council that the city not raise property taxes on homeowners, Johnson came up with a host of other fines and fees to help make up the difference.
In all, increased fees, fines or taxes on everything from plastic bags to those using ride-hailing apps are expected to yield an additional $170 million in revenue for 2025 — helping to close a $982 million deficit.
The hikes helped Johnson make good on a promise not to lay off or furlough city workers or cut essential services. While his budget eliminates some vacant positions from the city’s spending, no current employees will lose their jobs.
Here’s a look at some of the higher taxes and fees that are in Chicago’s 2025 budget.
Surcharges on weekend Uber, Lyft rides
If you’re taking an Uber or Lyft downtown, any day of the week between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., it’ll cost an extra $1.50.
Currently, a surcharge only applies to weekday rides, but the city is expanding that to include weekends. With the expansion, the city is lowering the current $1.75 surcharge by $0.25.
The surcharge expansion will rake in an extra $8.1 million for the city next year, according to estimates from the budget office.
The city’s two main ride-hailing app companies — Uber and Lyft — did not respond when asked whether they’ll pass on the new daily charge to riders or if they company will pick up the tab.
Other charges that aren’t changing include $1.13 per trip, and a $5 surcharge for any rides to or from the city’s airports and McCormick Place.
Netflix and other streaming services tax
The tax on streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu or Spotify will bump from 9% to 10.25% next year.
That means a standard Netflix subscription for Chicago residents will jump around $0.19 a month — from $16.88 to $17.07.
This is expected to add $12.9 million more to the city’s coffers. According to the budget office, the last time the tax increased was in 2009.
Checkout bag tax
Bring your own bag if you want to avoid a 10-cent charge for single-use bags at checkout next year. Checkout bags now cost 7 cents. In the new year, 9 cents will be collected by the city, and a penny, instead of 2 cents, will go to the retailer.
Those extra cents will add up to an additional $5.1 million in 2025, the budget office estimates. The tax was put in place in 2017 as a way to reduce plastic bag use, but some reports show it’s not working.
Cloud storage tax
The city will increase the tax on digital goods — things like software licenses and cloud storage. While the tax likely has the biggest impact on businesses, it also applies to individuals, and will bump to 11% from 9%.
This tax increase will yield the largest amount compared to all the other hikes, bringing in an estimated $128 million in 2025, according to the city’s budget office.
Parking permits and passes fees
Annual parking permits that allow you to park in your residential zone will cost a little bit more — if you’re under 65 years old. For seniors, the cost will stay the same, at $25. For everyone else, that’ll be $30 next year and $35 in 2026. That’ll bring in an extra $940,000 for the city.
Replacements or zone changes will cost you more, too. Those 65 and older will continue to pay $5, while everyone else will owe $20.
Temporary permit parking passes to give to out-of-towners will almost double, to $15 from $8 for a sheet of 15. That will rake in an extra $1.5 million in 2025.
City sticker transfers and replacements fees
Replacing your city sticker will cost $20 in 2025, as opposed to $5. The replacement fee isn’t changing for those 65 and older.
The hike will add up to an extra $445,000 next year, budget officials estimate.
Parking garage and valet fees
Taxes on parking in a commercial garage and or valeting your car will bump to 23.25% all the time, as opposed to a tiered tax of 20% on weekdays and 22% on weekends.
For instance, a spot in a garage that costs $18 a day would instead be at least $22.18, if parking garage companies decide to pass the tax directly to the consumer.
The city’s budget office estimates this will add up to an additional $11.3 million next year. The last increase to this tax was in 2015, according to the budget office.
Pedicab chauffeur license fee
Pedicab chauffeurs — the cyclists you see transporting tourists in neon-lit rickshaws downtown — will have to pay a lot more for their two-year licenses — from $5 to $40, a 700% increase.
The city issues about 7,200 such licenses a year, according to the budget office.
The big bump for chauffeurs amounts to just $108,000 extra cash for the city next year.
Wholesale food sellers license fee
The two-year license for businesses that sell food wholesale will double, from $660 to $1,320, bringing in just $155,000 extra in 2025.
A wholesale food seller is any business that preps, manufactures, cans, bakes, bottles, packs, distributes or stores food, according to the budget office.
License fine violation
The fine for violating any of the city’s “general licensing provisions” required to operate a business or perform an occupation is increasing to a range of $400 to $5,000, instead of $200 to $1,000.
The city’s budget office says most of these fines are given to corporations, and they are adjudicated at the city’s Department of Administrative Hearings.
That’s expected to yield an extra $428,000 next year.
Public vehicle fines
This fine — mostly given to cab drivers — is for violating any provision of the city’s public chauffeur license rules. The range of the fines will increase to $75 to $1,000 from the current $50 to $400.
Violations can include denying service based on discrimination, fraud or safety, and overcharging, according to the city’s budget office.
The fine increase is expected to bring in an additional $14,000.
Utility access fees and fines
The city is creating a new $500 fee that charges utility companies to access public way “utilidors,” which are conduits that help carry utility lines beneath city streets.
The city says that “currently there is no framework to manage utilidors and require utility companies and developers to utilize them within the footprint of a project” and that a lack of coordination has led to excessive pavement cuts and street damage.
Fines for not using utilidors within the specified footprint of a project will range between $500 and $5,000.
The new fees and fines will rake in around $1 million a year, the budget office says.
Mariah Woelfel covers Chicago politics for WBEZ.