A subcommittee on the Chicago City Council is thinking of new streams of revenue to fund the city as Chicago grapples with a large debt.

City Alderman William Hall, chairman of the subcommittee, was keen on the idea of implementing a city income tax for salaries over $100,000 earned in Chicago. 

“Billionaires and millionaires are not even paying taxes. … It makes no sense that a mother who’s making $45,000 to $50,000 a year working two jobs, robbing Peter to pay Paul, hoping that an iPad would keep her kids occupied, is paying more taxes than, you know, Ken Griffin and company,” Hall said. Ken Griffin was previously Illinois’s richest man before he moved himself and his company, Citadel, to Florida.

Hall did not directly confirm or deny if his tax would include all salaries above $100,000, simply saying he prefers a “fair tax rate.” He also suggested a tax on stock holdings and personal liquid assets of wealthy residents which he says passes “wealth into trust funds.”

Hall threw out some other suggestions for increasing the city’s pocketbook, too.

“Trust fund babies … get away with not paying their fair share, but using services to increase their lifestyle — that’s not fair,” Hall said. “We need tax parity, tax equity.”

Hall suggested rethinking vacant retail space as advertising space. He said his approach would not be “cheesy” but asked why New York City can be “making millions of dollars in digital marketing in Times Square.”

“We’re not going to put a big old advertisement board on the Sears Tower. … We’re not going to take away from the integrity of some of the greatest architectural designs in the world. But what we can do is be innovative,” Hall said.

United Airlines recently partnered with Archer Aviation to begin offering helicopter rides in 2025 from O’Hare International Airport to Chicago’s West Side. Hall suggested capitalizing on the Chicago-based airline’s idea.

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“If United [Airlines] wants to have helicopter flights, let’s figure out a way in which we have fair landing fees and locations that Chicagoans can use,” he said. Hall noted this plan would be careful not to intrude on Chicago’s parks and natural preserves.

The subcommittee will report back to the city in 30 days with ideas.