Fourteen aldermen commissioned the poll and paid for it from their political war chests. As Political Reporter Chris Tye reports, the poll shows voters want no part of a property tax, and alders who go along with one are likely to pay the political price for it.

Mayor Brandon Johnson is all but giving up on his proposed $300 million property tax hike before aldermen kill it, and pushing them to find other revenue in its place to avert layoffs. Johnson’s administration is combing over alternatives to the tax jump after members of the City Council scheduled a special meeting in the hopes of voting it down.

Mayoral aides and some Council members have agreed to cut the proposed increase in half as talks continue. The largest chunk of new revenue — $128 million — will come from raising the personal property lease tax on cloud computing to 11%.

In the poll, a total of 800 Chicagoans were asked a dozen questions about city leadership, finances, and ways to balance the budget.