A coalition of progressive groups and a handful of aldermen are getting specific about increases to a bevy of taxes to fill Chicago’s budget hole, including restoring and increasing Chicago’s corporate head tax to $16 per month for large companies, instituting a 3.5 percent tax on office leases, a hike in the hotel tax from 4.5 percent to 7.5 percent, a vacancy tax on commercial properties vacant for more than 18 months and a local income tax on those earning above $100,000 a year.

The coalition identified 13 revenue proposals—five require approval from state lawmakers—that they said together could raise more than $4 billion.

But Mayor Lori Lightfoot has said her priorities for the upcoming budget are to seek "reasonable" options that relieve "the financial burden on those least able to afford it" while "not driving businesses out of Chicago."

Lightfoot explicitly said she was against a LaSalle Street tax on financial transactions and reinstatement of the head tax in her meeting with Crain’s editorial board.

Members of Grassroots Collaborative, education group Raise Your Hand, the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, ONE Northside, Black Lives Matter Chicago, and Ald. Michael Rodriguez, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, and Ald. Matt Martin held a press conference Tuesday for their “Reimagine Chicago” platform. Other platform supporters include the Chicago Teachers Union, SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana, and their political arm, United Working Families.

Aside from progressive revenue proposals, the group is calling for a freeze in the Chicago Police Department’s budget, a moratorium on the city privatizing services, and a halt to TIF subsidies for developments aimed at wealthy neighborhoods. It wants $2 billion in additional city spending for affordable housing, reopening the city’s closed mental health clinics, an expansion of early childhood education, and a year-round youth jobs program.

"We’ve seen over the last decade-plus, about 60 corporations relocate to the city of Chicago. We’ve seen dozens of cranes operating, and we’ve seen Uber just announce it’s going to spend $200 million on freight expansion," Ald. Martin, 47th, said, meaning it was high time to shift the tax burden to the wealthiest in the city. "That’s why we should revisit the corporate head tax on large companies . . . adopt the sales tax on luxury goods and services for large consulting firms, large banking organizations, large law firms."

Asked about concern about chasing business away, Ald. Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, said “somebody has to pay to make sure the city of Chicago is functioning, that we’re meeting our pension obligations, that we’re filling the potholes on the streets. Working people have paid more than their fair share," he said, and the business community has "gotten more than their fair share for a very long time."

The group conceded they had only 10 members signed on to push those proposals and were still in talks to get the entire 18-member Progressive Caucus on board. Most are new City Council members who campaigned on progressive platforms to prioritize working families.

The group of 10 aldermen said in August they planned to vote as a bloc on the upcoming budget, which will be introduced in late October. “It’s not just thinking about our bloc as something that’s going to get in the way of something, but why it’s important to have us on your side,” Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th, said then. “We’re a bloc that’s still a significant number that can make or break a decision.”