The City Council narrowly approved Mayor Brandon Johnson's controversial $830 million bond deal to finance neighborhood infrastructure improvements, despite complaints that a back-loaded repayment schedule would inflate the total cost to $2 billion by the time all of the debt is paid off.

The Chicago City Council narrowly passed a hotly contested $830 million infrastructure bond plan Wednesday backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson. Aldermen approved the plan in a 26 to 23 vote a day after Johnson’s administration proposed a version with clearer spending guardrails.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s team is offering aldermen language clarifying that the money will not be used for purposes other than infrastructure repairs and upgrades.

But the mayor was forced to cast another tie-breaking vote to avoid having the decision on his bond issue put off even longer.

The borrowing plan had been criticized for its structure, which pushes off paying down the principal until 2045. Some members of the City Council also expressed concerns over how the money would be used.

Chicago’s City Council on Wednesday approved Mayor Brandon Johnson’s controversial proposal to sell $830 million in bonds for infrastructure costs despite concerns about the debt’s delayed repayment schedule and who would get to use the proceeds.

The City Council has voted Wednesday on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $830 million bond proposal for infrastructure projects.