The ordinance (O2026-0026270) increases the threshold for the City Council to approve new debt and borrowing up to a three-fifths or 30-member margin from a simple 26-vote majority. 

The measure was approved by the Committee on Finance over two weeks ago but was deferred at last week’s regular council meeting by mayoral allies. 

Ald. Marty Quinn (13), the sponsor of the ordinance, said the proposal enhanced City Council independence and mirrored the three-fifths threshold currently in place for debt-related matters in the Illinois General Assembly.  

“This ordinance is about sound policy and doing the best for our residents,” Quinn said. “This proposal does not apply to one mayor. This is a long-term plan that would apply to all Chicago mayors moving forward.” 

Vote tally is below

Still, Quinn’s measure follows a few controversial bond transactions in the last few years. In early 2025, an $830 million general obligation bond authorization to pay for 2024-28 Capital Improvement Plan projects and aldermanic menu money only narrowly received council approval after some took issue with the city’s plan to forgo principal payments for 20 years. 

Related: City Council approves $830M general obligation bond authorization to fund capital projects in narrow vote  

And late last year, Finance Vice Chair Bill Conway (34) urged his colleagues to join him in opposing hundreds of millions of dollars in new borrowing put forward by the Johnson administration during the 2026 budget process.

Conway had argued for reducing a $1.8 billion general obligation bond authorization for capital improvement plan projects, menu money, unionized firefighter backpay and settlement and judgment costs to $500 million to prioritize the financing of backpay and legal costs while allowing more time to consider new infrastructure project debt. While the council did approve the full $1.8 billion, Conway successfully pushed to reduce a companion authorization for bond refinancing authority from $2 billion to $1 billion. 

Related: Finance committee passes $2.8B in new borrowing authority for capital projects, firefighter backpay, legal settlements and refinancing  

On Tuesday, Conway said the higher threshold will require mayoral administrations to garner a greater consensus to pass bond deals and other new debt issuances, which would hopefully lead to more prudent plans. 

“I think the higher threshold really gets into how we're structuring our debt rather than less debt,” Conway said. “There are good reasons for us to issue debt. Infrastructure: we're going to have to borrow for in the future. The airport: we're going to have to borrow for the future. The water department: we're going to have to borrow for the future. But it's going to make sure that we are doing that in a very responsible way.” 

Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has wielded his veto power more than any other Chicago mayor in recent history, wouldn’t commit to a decision when asked Tuesday.   

But he did signal his opposition to the principle behind the ordinance. Johnson said he believed it would negatively impact lower-income Chicagoans who have depended on the city’s bond-financed investments, such as Johnson’s $1.25 billion Housing and Economic Development Bond package approved in 2024, by making government more bureaucratic and slower. 

“I believe that we can still have a robust conversation around how we issue bonds without getting in the way of government,” Johnson said. “I'm trying to move with expediency. There are people in the city of Chicago who are hurting, and I'm with them every single day. And all they want is a government that's going to be responsive to their day-to-day needs to improve their quality of life … What we don't want, though, is a City Council that's stingy.”  

If the mayor chooses to veto the ordinance, the coalition of supporters would need two additional votes to override it.