A plan to borrow $830 million to finance infrastructure improvements in Chicago narrowly passed the City Council on Wednesday afternoon.
The City Council passed the measure by a 26-to-23 margin, approving a plan introduced by Mayor Brandon Johnson to help finance projects that will address infrastructure concerns, roadways and more in the city.
Johnson had faced criticism from lawmakers not just about the size of the borrowing plan, but also the 40-year repayment schedule, which won’t see the city begin making principal payments until 2045.
Ald. Pat Dowell, chair of the City Council’s Finance Committee, voted in support of the bill and spoke out in favor of it in a recent op-ed.
“The repayment of this particular bond is in line with the standard payment schedule for capital bonds, and mirrors how the city has paid off these types of bonds in years past,” she said.
That type of “business as usual” rhetoric did not sit well with Ald. Bill Conway, who called the plan “irresponsible” in a social media post.
“A 20-year interest-only debt plan is irresponsible & hurts future generations,” he said. “‘We’ve always done it this way’ is exactly the problem—we can’t keep kicking the can. Reckless fiscal policy will undermine safety, transit & growth.”
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Dowell said that continually deferring spending on infrastructure would only result in higher costs later on, and took exception to the idea that the payment structure of the plan was akin to “kicking a can down the road.”
“The idea that this bond issuance ‘kicks the can down the road’ is another falsehood. In fact, the opposite is true. Deferring infrastructure maintenance only gives rise to higher costs, greater liabilities and diminished quality of life for residents,” she said in her op-ed.
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According to the text of the ordinance, the repayment cost on the $830 million in bonds will be approximately $2 billion.
Lawmakers said that the price tag was high, but that the drawbacks of waiting would be even greater.
“Deferred maintenance would cost more,” Ald. Walter Burnett said during Wednesday’s hearing. “Potholes will grow bigger, vacant buildings will catch on fire, light poles will fall and bridges could deteriorate beyond repair.”
Ald. Timmy Knudsen had spoken out against the bill and had drafted an alternative plan that would have reduced the repayment period from 40 years to 30 years, and would have prohibited the city from making interest-only payments on the bonds.
According to multiple reports, Johnson has said that the bill will only be used to pay for infrastructure projects, with bill language changing in recent days to tighten up ways in which funds could be used for Chicago Public Schools, according to WBEZ.
