Susana Mendoza, a Chicago mayoral candidate, reconsidered her plan for a graduated property tax after receiving pushback.

A progressive property tax proposal from mayoral candidate, Susana Mendoza, is dead less than 24 hours after it was proposed. "Having caught a fair amount of heat, this specific idea now appears very much on the back burner," Greg Heinz writes for Crains Chicago Business. The plan, which would have taxed more expensive residential properties at higher rates than cheap ones has been scrapped.
After a property tax scandal cost County Accessor Joseph Berrios, his job, many have been looking for a more equitable way for the city to collect revenue. Mendoza, the state comptroller and a mayoral hopeful, had suggested a tiered property tax system that would be more progressive than the flat tax that currently exists in Illinois in her wide ranging “Future Now” plan. That plan has since been amended.
Mendoza now says a tiered plan might not be the best way to achieve the kind of just tax system she was aiming for, but maintains she will work with new County Accessor Fritz Kaegi to create a property tax system that is "fully transparent."
FULL STORY: Mendoza backs off ‘lakefront tax’ idea

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.

Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.

Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
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