The 2026 Chicago City budget authorized video gaming within the City of Chicago (Chicago or the ‘City’) and relied on the projected revenue from licensing fees to help balance the alternative budget ultimately passed into law in December 2025 by the City Council without the signature of the Mayor. Since passage, the video gaming revenue has been the subject of recurring debate and controversy between the Mayor, the City Council, Bally’s, and others. However, that debate has occurred without…
The Chicago Public Schools (CPS, or the ‘District’) is lacking the cash that it needs to meet operating costs. The crunch has become so bad that CPS’ finance team has voiced concerns about an inability to make payroll in September if a FY2027 budget is not passed by the end of July. This piece will explain what this cash shortage is, how it came about, and what CPS can do to alleviate it.
Join us as we break down the CPS FY2027 Budget through a moderated discussion in partnership with Kids First Chicago!
Chicago's budget debate has increasingly focused on whether the City should adopt stricter standards for structural budget balance and long-term financial planning. New York City provides one example of a major U.S. city operating under a more rigorous legal framework. This report examines how major U.S. cities prepare budgets and compares Chicago’s flexible budgeting with New York City’s stringent budget-preparation requirements.
Debt is an essential part of every local government’s budget, but often a confusing one. In the Chicago region, many local governments are overburdened by debt, often citing it as a high “legacy” cost that constrains discretionary spending. This report will serve as a basic primer on how municipal debt works and how it is meant to be used, using the debt load of one local government as a case study: the Chicago Public School District (CPS or ‘the District’). The report is grounded in widely…
CIVIC FEDERATION CONTACT: communications@civicfed.orgCHICAGO — Today, the Civic Federation released the following statement regarding the FY27 State Budget and end of the Illinois spring legislative session.“Illinois has once again settled for a budget that relies on new taxes and interfund transfers rather than adopting the meaningful…
The Civic Federation's Spring Speaker Series brought together Justin Marlowe, Research Professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy; former 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman; and 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale for a candid panel discussion on Chicago's fiscal condition and the path forward. Moderated by Don Vincent of The Daily Line, the conversation examined lessons from Chicago’s FY2026 budget process, the structural challenges facing City Council, and what reforms…
Governor Pritzker’s FY2027 State of Illinois budget proposal offers a “maintenance” approach that meets the current moment and balances near-term fiscal pressures. However, it does not address underlying structural challenges that could make balancing future budgets increasingly difficult without broader policy reforms. At the heart of the challenge is that the State’s revenue base is not growing fast enough to support its spending. Recent revenue increases have been driven largely by tax…
Federal funding supports about a third of Illinois’ total All Funds operating budget, funding a variety of programs including health and human services. Changes in federal policy create significant fiscal and operational pressure for the State. The enactment of H.R. 1 represents a shift in the federal-state fiscal relationship, increasing Illinois’ responsibility for administering and financing core health and human services programs that the State previously could depend on the federal…
Governor Pritzker’s FY2027 budget proposal for the State of Illinois (Illinois or ‘the State’) largely reflects a “maintenance budget.” Overall, spending remains relatively flat or slightly higher compared with FY2026, with limited new initiatives and few major structural policy changes. The proposal closes the $2.2 billion budget gap projected by the Governor’s Office in October 2025 primarily through a combination of targeted revenue changes, modest reallocations of existing revenues,…
