In November 2011, then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel put out a press release lauding the Chicago City Council for eliminating what he described as the city’s job-killing head tax.

But in electing Mayor Lori Lightfoot as his replacement and in boosting to 18 the number of aldermen who self-identify as progressives, 35th Ward Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa says voters clearly wanted change.

On Tuesday, Ramirez-Rosa stood with a coalition of progressive and labor groups calling for Chicago to “reimagine” its budget, including by restoring – and quadrupling – the corporate head tax.

Requiring Chicago businesses with at least 50 workers to pay $16 a month for each employee (exempting hires who come from city neighborhoods with high unemployment rates) would bring in an estimated $106 million a year, enough to make a decent dent in the projected $838 million shortfall for the coming year.

Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce CEO Jack Lavin attributes the elimination of the corporate head tax to a boom in construction, and in corporations relocating to and expanding in Chicago.

Follow Amanda Vinicky on Twitter:@AmandaVinicky

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