With nearly 9,000 units of local government, Illinois is among the most fragmented states in the nation. Government consolidation is frequently proposed as a mechanism to improve efficiency, accountability, and fiscal sustainability in fragmented systems of local governance. In practice, consolidation can take many forms, ranging from full structural mergers and dissolutions of governments to narrower functional consolidation and shared service arrangements. These approaches differ…
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…
Illinois’ early childhood system plays a central role in supporting children’s learning, development, well-being, and family stability from birth to age five. This report provides a data-driven overview of the early childhood landscape in Illinois. It examines demographic and socioeconomic conditions, governance and organizational structures, funding trends, program access, workforce capacity, quality indicators, family experiences, and outcomes. The goal is not to make policy recommendations,…
Illinois Senate Bill 2111, passed by the Illinois General Assembly on October 31, 2025, makes major changes to the way transit service is governed and funded in Illinois. The legislation, which is expected to be signed by the Governor, becomes effective on June 1, 2026. This report briefly summarizes the components of this legislative breakthrough and assesses how well the legislation addresses the system’s underlying challenges. While the legislation specifies substantial governance…
llinois is in the process of consolidating early childhood services into a new agency, the Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC). The Department will assume responsibility for programs that were previously spread across multiple state agencies, with the goal of creating a more streamlined and coordinated system. The transition is designed to simplify access for families, reduce administrative burdens for providers, and strengthen oversight of state resources. State transition…
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…
Most of the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD, or the ‘Department’) spending (96.5%) is budgeted through the City’s Corporate Fund, or general operating fund. This analysis provides a snapshot of CPD spending within the Corporate Fund since 2019.CPD expenditures within the Corporate Fund are proposed to be $1.96 billion in FY2026. The Police Department’s budgeted spending has increased by 26.5% between the 2019 adopted budget and the 2026 proposed budget, at an average annualized growth rate of…
In 2019, the City of Chicago (Chicago or the ‘City’) had a budget of $8.9 billion, excluding grants from the State of Illinois (Illinois or the ‘State’) and the Federal government. By 2025, expenditures had grown to $12.4 billion—a 40% increase. Using 2019 as a baseline, this report explains how much the Chicago budget has grown compared to pre-pandemic levels of spending and what areas of the budget are driving that growth.
Lake County, Illinois, has emerged as a leader in reducing duplication and streamlining local services. With more than 200 units of government, Lake County has been gradually chipping away at this problem by pursuing the elimination or consolidation of small, special-district governments such as sanitary districts, drainage districts, and mosquito abatement districts. Since 2017, the 19-member elected Lake County Board of Commissioners has eliminated or consolidated six special districts and is…
Chicago enters the FY2026 budget season at a pivotal moment. If it feels like we have been here before, it is because we have for as long as can be remembered. Ever-mounting taxes and fees, persistent structural budget gaps, high long-term debt, underfunded pensions, and debates over government spending are long-held staples of local political discourse. Despite occasional wins, the City’s fiscal situation remains largely unchanged, and new financial burdens further threaten an already fragile…
