The City of Chicago faces one of its largest operating budget gaps in history, with a massive $1.15 billion shortfall projected for FY2026. Mayor Johnson’s proposed budget must close that gap by the time of introduction in October. Since the Mayor convened a working group to address the City’s structural budget gaps via executive order in April 2025, City stakeholders have been waiting with bated breath to see what the working group would propose as ways to streamline operations…
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts are a complex, often misunderstood part of Chicago’s tax structure. TIF Districts segment and dedicate a portion of property tax collections within a designated geographic area to fund economic development and capital or infrastructure projects. They do not, as critics often claim, siphon funds away from local governments. Instead, TIF districts limit the taxable value of property, or the tax base, from which local governments can draw their property tax…
Chicago is the only major U.S. city without a governing charter—a formal, constitutional framework that defines how city government should operate. As a result, the city functions through a patchwork of state laws, municipal codes, and informal customs that concentrate excessive power in the executive branch, limit legislative effectiveness, and lack enforceable transparency and accountability mechanisms. This structural deficiency has contributed to long-term fiscal instability, poor decision-…
by A.D. Quig, Olivia Olander, and Jeremy GornerJune 12, 2025
Following a lengthy political debate, Chicago’s FY2025 enacted budget managed to technically fill a nearly $1 billion projected budget gap. However, as the Civic Federation noted in its City of Chicago FY2025 Roadmap released in October 2024, Chicago has a persistent structural budget deficit that was largely unaddressed in the most recent budget process and resulted in a credit downgrade in January 2025. There will likely be another large budget gap in FY2026 with fewer financial options for…
Chicago’s city council is set to vote on a package of ordinances setting the municipal budget for 2025. A late start, the mayor’s failure to provide detailed information requested by alderpeople, and a unanimous city council rejection of the mayor’s initial proposed tax levy all highlight the need for change in Chicago’s budget process.
CHICAGO – The Civic Federation released six reports in October and November, covering an array of local government finance and tax topics, including the estimated full market value of real estate in Cook County, Cook County’s pension fund, effective property tax rates, the City of Chicago debt burden, and the State of Illinois’ FY2025 capital budget, among others.
This short report presents trends on increases in total property tax extensions for all the governments on typical Chicago property tax bills. A taxpayer in the City of Chicago pays property taxes to 7 or 8 local governments, depending on which part of the City they live.
On October 30, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson introduced the City’s proposed FY2025 budget. The proposed budget included a variety of measures to close a projected $982.4 million budget deficit that was first predicted in last year’s budget forecast.
