Following the success of last year’s Budget Blog, which provided a relatively succinct way to communicate with residents about the complicated topic of the City Budget, 1st Ward Staff are once again maintaining a blog about the budget.

Due to the ongoing projected budget gaps faced by the City, the narrow vote associated with the 2025 Budget, and the feedback of 1st Ward residents about the City’s financial situation, the 2025 Budget Blog will run throughout the year. Archived budget content is featured at the bottom of the page.

2026 Budget Season

On Thursday, October 16, 2025, Mayor Brandon Johnson delivered his annual budget address. The 2026 proposed budget is available here. To clear this page and make it more readable, previous materials have been archived in convenient groups (2025 Budget season; Budget Blog follow-ups; and other topical discussions, such as Chicago Public Schools budget, Treasurer statements, and pension documents).

Budget Blog 16 - Top Line 2026 Budget Read

Budget Hearings
Following the Mayor’s budget address, the Committee on Budget and Government Operations will host hearings on each department’s proposed budget. Every hearing will be streamed live via the City Clerk’s website. Once again, Alderman La Spata will be submitting Through the Chair (TTC) letters, which is a way to procure important information about the City’s budget and operations. The 2026 hearing schedule is as follows:

  • Tuesday, October 21: Budget and Finance

    • Office of Budget & Management | Department of Finance | Office of the Chief Financial Officer

  • Wednesday, October 22: Infrastructure Day 1

    • Department of Transportation | Department of Streets and Sanitation | Department of Technology and Innovation

  • Thursday, October 23: Infrastructure Day 2

    • Department of Aviation | Department of Water Management | Department of Fleet and Facility Management | Department of Buildings

Click the image to open the 2026 budget recommendations file

  • Wednesday, October 29: Inspector General, Procurement Services, Environment

    • Office of the Inspector General | Department of Procurement Services | Department of Environment

  • Thursday, October 30: Social Services

    • Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities | Department of Family and Support Services | Department of Public Health | Commission on Human Relations

  • Tuesday, November 4: Economic Development and Arts

    • Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection | Department of Planning and Development | Department of Housing | Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events | Chicago Public Library

  • Wednesday, November 5: Public Safety Day 1 (Chicago Police Department only)

  • Thursday, November 6: Public Safety Day 2

    • Office of Public Safety Administration | Office of Emergency Management and Communications | Chicago Fire Department

  • Wednesday, November 12: Human Resources and Oversight

    • Department of Human Resources | Board of Ethics | Civilian Office for Police Accountability | Community Commission for Public Safety Accountability | License Appeal Commission

  • Thursday, November 13: Independent Offices and Regulatory Agencies

    • City Treasurer | City Clerk | Department of Administrative Hearings | Chicago Board of Elections | Chicago Animal Care & Control | Department of Law

  • Friday, November 14: Designated make up day

Budget Blogs
The 1st Ward Office is working on research to prepare for 2026 Budget season, and that includes three budget blogs that relate to the City’s comprehensive audit for 2024 (released summer 2025); a brief note on further understanding the City’s municipal bonds; and a discussion of the City’s use of Tax Incrementing Financing (TIF) surplus as the Chicago Public Schools recently passed a budget that fails to reimburse the City for municipal pensions costs and also will ostensibly rely on the City Council to pass a substantial TIF surplus.

Archive

Where do we go from here? Pensions and Budget History

For page management purposes, the following content has been archived into a single document:

  • Several blogs on debt, bonds, and historical surveys of services in the budget (2004 - 2025)

  • Several blogs on workforce vacancy data, including persistent vacant job titles in 2025.

  • A blog on tax increment financing, and another blog on the comprehensive financial audit.

Original Budget Blog: 2025 Budget season

For page management purposes, the following content has been archived into a single document:

  • Explaining the budget gap and revenue (October 2024)

  • Material on improving budget forecasts, structural vacancies, and Finance General.

Archived: March 12, 2025

For page management purposes, the following content has been archived into a single document:

  • Infrastructure bond analysis (February City Council vote)

  • City Treasurer Statement (February 7, 2025)

Archived: April 22, 2025

For page management purposes, the following content has been archived into a single document:

  • Chicago Public Schools pension payment update

  • Reading pension documents