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…
Rising oil prices associated with the current conflict in Iran have increased pressure on household and transportation affordability nationwide and have led to calls across the country for the suspension or reduction of taxes on motor fuel sales. In the State of Illinois (Illinois or ‘the State’), however, motor fuel taxes now support a broader range of transportation and transit systems than in prior years, meaning temporary tax reductions could have significant implications for transportation…
The 2026 edition of this annual report lists and describes selected consumer taxes within the City of Chicago (Chicago or the ‘City’), effective as of January 1, 2026. Consumer taxes are taxes imposed on the purchase, use, or consumption of goods and services by individuals and businesses. They are generally paid by the end user, either at the point of sale or through charges embedded in the price of a good or service, and include both broad-based sales taxes and targeted excise taxes on…
A recent report by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas shows that Cook County property taxes surged 182% in the 30-year period between 1995 and 2024, rising from $6.8 billion to $19.2 billion. This is far greater than the 91% rate of inflation during that period and much higher than the 161% increase in wage growth (161%). The major drivers of this increase are: Increases in school district levies, which hiked property taxes by over 189% in this period.The failure of the state’s property…
As the State of Illinois budget season approaches, the Civic Federation continues our focus on H.R. 1, particularly its tax code provisions. We describe selected changes and their impacts on Illinois, assess the State’s responses to date, and briefly discuss other policy adjustments the state might consider going forward.
Full value studies estimate the market value of residential and commercial real estate in a taxing district. They provide a snapshot of the value of a taxing district’s property tax base at a point in time. Examining trends in full value can show how market values have changed over time and whether the assessment burden has shifted across different geographic areas and property classes. The full market value of real estate is an indicator of regional economic health, the size of the property…
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…
Illinois’ Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) was enacted in the 1990s to slow the rate of growth of local property taxes by capping the annual increases in property tax extensions for non-home rule governments, such as school districts and park districts, to the lesser of 5% or the rate of inflation. In reality, property taxes have grown much faster than inflation, and PTELL has not achieved its intended purpose of limiting property tax growth. This joint report from the Civic…
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…
The introduction of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed FY2026 budget on October 16 provides Chicagoans with insight into how this administration proposes to address a $1.2 billion budget deficit and what they aim to prioritize in the coming year. Excluding grant funds, the proposed budget is 2.7% higher than the previous year, despite a significant deficit necessitating unprecedented revenue measures. The budget proposes closing the deficit by substantially increasing the cloud computing…
