CHICAGO — As Chicago’s 50 aldermen scramble to balance the city’s budget, they will have one new cost to pay for: raises they gave themselves.

Every member of the City Council elected to take the 2027 pay bump, according to budget documents. Meanwhile, Mayor Brandon Johnson decided to forgo it.

The widespread move to not opt out of the inflation-tied boost of around 2.3% sends the highest aldermanic salaries to $159,264, an amount 29 council members make. The lowest salary will sit at $128,892.

Altogether, the decisions by aldermen to give themselves raises will cost taxpayers almost $200,000 more, a minuscule amount compared with the $17.6 billion Chicago budget Johnson proposed for next year.

The move comes as many in the council blast Johnson for proposing new spending. In their calls for cost cutting amid financial challenges, some Johnson opponents have called on City Hall to reconsider similar raises given to thousands of city employees, a key reason the city spends more every year.

“Raises has been a continuous issue for me, particularly as we’re seeing some eye-popping raises,” Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, said during a Thursday hearing focused on the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation.

Lopez, whose $136,428 proposed 2027 salary is among the lowest in the council, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

Ald. Matt O’Shea, who is not running for reelection and will finish his fourth term as alderman of the Southwest Side 19th Ward in May, pointed to the many costs of life and his own relatively small pending salary — $133,836, fourth lowest in the City Council — as he explained his decision.

“No one has declined more raises than me,” he said. “I have three children in college. I will never decline a raise again. I work seven days a week. I work as hard or harder than any member.”

Asked if he thinks it was appropriate for every other alderman to take the raise, O’Shea questioned whether some show up to City Council hearings enough.

“I can only speak for myself,” he said, adding that he thinks the council’s salaries should be more uniform.

The group decision held to a pattern at City Hall, where 47 aldermen took the annual raise in 2025 and 48 took it in 2026.

The increases are tied to the consumer price index. They are given automatically, but aldermen are able to choose to instead continue receiving their current salary. Aldermanic salaries vary because some members have turned down past pay hikes, though the vast majority have accepted the bumps in recent years.

For his part, Johnson turned the raise down for a third straight year. He said it was an effort to show solidarity with Chicagoans while he has the “immense privilege” to be financially secure.

“At a time when families are being asked to do more with less, we have a responsibility to make sure public resources reach our neighbors who need them most,” he said.

The mayor is set to make $221,052. In his 2027 spending proposal, his chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, would outearn him by almost $2,500 after a raise of her own.

City Clerk Anna Valencia and Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin also accepted raises, bringing their salaries to $179,592.

All aldermen and citywide seats are up for grabs in a February election, meaning the raises elected officials accepted could ultimately go to someone else after May.

_____

©2026 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.