Cook County’s enacted budget for FY2026 totals $10.0 billion, half of which pertains to Cook County Health (CCH), which provides mandatory health services to County residents and others, including those who cannot afford care elsewhere. This report provides detail and context on Cook County Health’s fiscal impacts on the County as a whole. With preliminary FY2025 financial results now available, state budget deliberations underway, and continued federal policy shocks, the time is right to…
Cook County started the 2026 fiscal year (FY2026), beginning on December 1, 2025, in a stable financial position due to continued use of prudent budget policies. However, the County enters a period of fiscal uncertainty—it will face serious challenges in the coming year due to cuts in federal funding for social service and health programs, economic uncertainty, and the end of COVID-19 stimulus funding. The County’s strong operating reserves, low bonded debt burden, and improving pension funded…
The State of Illinois enters the FY2027 budget process at a pivotal moment. After several years of improved fiscal stability, marked by the reduction of the State’s bill backlog, incremental reserve building, and progress toward mitigating chronic structural deficits, the long-standing baseline fiscal pressures are tightening the State’s finances. While recent federal tax law changes initially raised concerns about substantial revenue losses, the State has taken steps to partially mitigate…
Legislative deliberations over the City of Chicago's (Chicago or ‘the City’) FY2026 budget, which ran from mid-October through passage in late December 2025, were a contentious, opaque, and at times messy affair that laid bare what has long been a deeply flawed process. In the absence of formal structures, procedural rigor, sufficient technical resources and expertise, and standards-based decision-making, the process devolved into confusion that at times verged on chaos, prompting not…
The final FY2026 City of Chicago budget, passed by City Council on December 20, brought a conclusion to an unprecedented and complex budget season. The result, which took effect January 1 without a signature or veto from the Mayor, should leave Chicagoans expecting much better of the City Council and Mayor alike. The unprecedented City Council-generated alternative FY2026 budget, while a valiant attempt to flex muscles the Council has always theoretically had but never used, represents another…
by Roland CaliaThe State of Illinois (Illinois or the 'State') enacted a multi-year $52.6 billion FY2026 capital budget on June 16, 2025 The budget is a 1.5% decrease from FY2025 due to lower spending on new projects. The following are some capital budget…
In October of 2025, Mayor Brandon Johnson released his proposed 2026 budget, which aims to close a deficit of over $1.2 billion as is required by state and municipal law. One component of the budget is a $1.01 billion Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District surplus, which will generate an estimated $232.6 million in revenue for the City of Chicago (Chicago or ‘the City’). Although this year’s $1.01 billion surplus is the largest in Chicago’s history, the oncoming expiration of many TIFs…
The recent federal government shutdown caused nationwide disruptions in public services and assistance across many domains, including food and nutrition supports for low-income individuals and households (see Federal Shutdown Threatens Food Assistance for Illinois Families). For the nation’s 41+ million participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the shutdown highlighted their vulnerability to unexpected decreases in monthly benefits. Indeed, SNAP participants…
Since opening in September 2023, Chicago’s temporary casino has consistently underperformed revenue expectations. Presented as a potential windfall to support Chicago’s underfunded police and fire pensions, every month since its opening, the City has reported revenues far short of initial projections. These initial projections were revised significantly downward in each subsequent year’s budget, and revenues frequently fail to meet even the reduced expectations. Despite this low performance to…
With the City of Chicago (Chicago or the ‘City’) facing a nearly $1.2 billion deficit heading into the 2026 fiscal year, potential spending reductions are and should be a top priority for stakeholders in the budget process. In May 2025, the City commissioned the consulting group EY – formerly known as Ernst & Young – to create a report on possible efficiencies the City could implement in future budgets. Many require few to no layoffs or service reductions. Others require additional input…
