Library

October 16, 2024

City of Chicago FY2025 Roadmap: Key Financial Challenges, Options and Recommendations

This report lays out several major issues facing the Chicago Mayor and City Council as they prepare to enter the FY2025 budget cycle and beyond, including the City’s structural deficit, pensions, long-term debt, public safety, financial entanglements with Chicago Public Schools, plans for addressing migrant funding challenges and the City’s new economic development and housing bond financing plan. The issues are presented as a framework for City elected officials and leadership when considering both short-term solutions to close the City’s budget deficit in the coming budget year and long-term solutions to address the City’s massive liabilities and persistent structural deficits. The report also includes options to address each of these issues in a fiscally responsible manner. It is our hope that this work elevates the discourse surrounding the City’s finances and provides a roadmap for a sustainable future.