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 – Today, the Civic Federation released a comprehensive report calling for Illinois legislators and Governor Pritzker’s administration to begin work on modernizing Illinois’ tax structure and improving its budgeting process. This report follows a Civic Federation issue brief outlining the State of Illinois’ economic challenges: Illinois Economic Landscape and Fiscal Structure. Together, these reports provide data and evidence of the economic and structural tax challenges that hinder…
The State of Illinois (Illinois or the “State”) has made significant progress in stabilizing its budget in recent years, yet still faces ongoing financial challenges, including a high tax burden, structural budget deficits, and legacy pension obligations, all of which put a strain on the state’s long-term sustainability. Overshadowing these challenges is the unprecedented uncertainty in Washington, D.C., with a new federal administration that threatens to eliminate billions of dollars in…
CHICAGO – Today, the Civic Federation released a comprehensive report calling for Illinois legislators and Governor Pritzker’s administration to begin work on modernizing Illinois’ tax structure and improving its budgeting process. This report follows a Civic Federation issue brief outlining the State of Illinois’ economic challenges: Illinois Economic Landscape and Fiscal Structure. Together, these reports provide data and evidence of the economic and structural tax challenges that hinder…
Executive Summary The Chicago Public School District (CPS or the “District”) faces a critical financial juncture, highlighted by structural budget imbalances, rising expenditures, declining enrollment, significant near-term infrastructure investment needs, and substantial long-term liabilities. A new 21-member Board of Education (the “Board”), partially elected for the first time, inherits these challenges as it assumes oversight on January 15, 2025.
The Chicago Public School District (CPS) faces a critical financial juncture, as outlined in a Civic Federation report released today. The newly expanded 21-member, hybrid-elected Board of Education (the “Board”) faces a confluence of financial challenges immediately upon taking office on January 15, 2025, as evidenced by discouraging trends that jeopardize the District’s ability to provide quality education necessary to prepare Chicago students for success. By laying out a…
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.
In a report released today, the Civic Federation shared the findings of its analysis of Cook County’s proposed FY2025 budget of $9.89 billion, noting the continuation of prudent financial practices that has resulted in the Preckwinkle administration proposing a responsibly structured FY2025 budget without burdening residents with tax and fee increases. The County is benefitting from higher-than-expected natural revenue growth and lower-than-expected healthcare and payroll costs, both of which…
CHICAGO – In a report released today, the Civic Federation shared the findings of its analysis of Cook County’s proposed FY2025 budget of $9.89 billion, noting the continuation of prudent financial practices that has resulted in the Preckwinkle administration proposing a responsibly structured FY2025 budget without burdening residents with tax and fee increases. The County is benefitting from higher-than-expected natural revenue growth and lower-than-expected healthcare and payroll costs, both…
This analysis of Cook County’s proposed FY2025 budget finds the Preckwinkle Administration has produced a responsible budget with no tax or fee increases, and that the County remains in a strong position to navigate future projected shortfalls.
