Introduction to the Budget Debate
With a pivotal vote Thursday on the Chicago Public Schools budget, a battle is still raging over a proposal by school district officials that some board members and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office say relies too heavily on shaky revenue.
The Debate Over Revenue
As was the case last year, there’s a debate about whether a loan should be used to ward off budget cuts. The school district is already deeply in debt and pays high interest rates, but it can’t independently raise revenue. The mayor’s office and CPS officials are at odds despite the interim schools chief having been hired from Johnson’s administration this summer. Board members are split, too, though the majority seems inclined to support Johnson’s position. Most are mayoral appointees or were elected with the backing of his allies at the Chicago Teachers Union.
The Proposed Budget
CPS leaders presented a budget earlier this month that they said closed a $734 million deficit through operational cuts, central office layoffs, and debt refinancing. Controversially, however, the plan counts on a record $379 million in surplus funds from the city’s special tax-increment financing, or TIF, districts. At the same time, schools officials said they would only give City Hall $175 million for a pension payment covering non-teacher CPS employees — which the city needs to balance its books — if CPS receives even more money than already expected from the state or city.
Concerns Over TIF Funding
Senior mayoral aide Jason Lee bashed the plan, saying CPS has never counted on so much TIF surplus funding in its budget. There’s no guarantee that CPS will get such a big pot of money, he said, especially if board members don’t commit to making the pension payment. TIF districts are zones across the city where some property taxes are set aside for economic development or infrastructure projects. The mayor, with City Council approval, can use unspent or unobligated money as a one-time fix for operating budget gaps. CPS gets 52% of TIF surpluses; the city gets about 23% and other taxing bodies get the rest.
Jason Lee, senior advisor to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, says CPS officials are irresponsibly relying on revenue that isn’t guaranteed. “Obviously [CPS officials are] taking extreme measures just so they can say they have a balanced budget on paper,” Lee said. “But in reality, by their own historical budget practices, this budget wouldn’t even be considered balanced. And so we’re highly concerned that by doing that, they would leave a significant shortfall in the event that these surpluses aren’t approved.”
City Council Members Weigh In
Twenty-six members of the City Council fired off a letter to school board members Wednesday urging them to reject taking a loan that would reimburse the city for the $175 million pension payment. That’s despite the city’s budget — approved by the council in December 2024 — counting on CPS making the payment. The signatories — including several members of Johnson’s handpicked leadership team — said they also don’t want to see classroom cuts. They committed to supporting a TIF surplus but notably didn’t say how much money that would mean for CPS.
Support for CPS Officials
Board members opposed to the mayor say they will vote in favor of CPS officials’ budget proposal, arguing it manages to close the deficit without encroaching on classrooms and avoids borrowing. The pension payment is not the school district’s responsibility, they say, and a short-term loan would only saddle the district with more debt and affect future deficits. Jessica Biggs said those factors made her decision to vote in favor of the plan “pretty easy.” Biggs, whose District 6 includes the Loop and parts of Englewood, disagreed that counting on TIF funds was a risk.
Chicago Board of Education member Jessica Biggs.
Majority Say CPS Officials Ignoring Political Realities
Board members who support the mayor stand in favor of amending the budget to include the pension payment and leaving the option of a loan on the table. They argue it’s risky to rely on uncertain revenue projections from TIF surplus funds to help close the budget gap. As things stand, at least 11 members — the majority needed to win a vote — back the mayor’s plan. Jitu Brown, an elected member in the West Side’s District 5, said he wants to protect classrooms from any potential funding cuts, which have historically impacted Black and Latino communities.
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