CHICAGO – The vote on the Chicago Public Schools’ proposed 2026 budget is hanging by a thread.
Nine CPS board members currently support the budget as is, while 10 are asking for changes, notably the inclusion of a $175 million pension payment and a $200 million short-term high-interest loan to pay for it.
‘Bad things happen’
What we know:
CPS board members and interim CEO Macquline King heard from anxious residents imploring them to pass a budget that minimizes cuts to things like special education.
“When you cut the budget, bad things happen to those individuals like my son and grandson, to those individuals that need those self-contained classrooms,” said parent Vikki Lewis, holding back tears.
King and her leadership team presented a budget that closes a $734 million shortfall with one-time fixes. It pushes a $175 million pension payment onto the city, which it is legally allowed to do, and does not include a controversial short-term $200 million loan.
The budget proposal relies on Mayor Brandon Johnson to declare more than $300 million in TIF surplus funds, but mayoral-appointed members say that money might not come if CPS pushes the pension payment onto Johnson’s city budget.
“My question is what happens if City Council members spend most of the TIFs, dramatically reducing the TIF surplus?” said elected board member Aaron “Jitu” Brown, a staunch supporter of Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union. “I think any assumption that will not happen is politically naïve.”
Budget stalemate?
The other side:
But elected members who support CPS’s budget as is argue that, legally, the TIF money should come regardless.
“This isn’t a personal decision,” said elected board member Ellen Rosenfeld, who supports the budget. “There is a city TIF policy that requires a certain amount of TIF money to come to the schools. It’s not at the mayor’s whim; it’s not if we don’t do that, then this happens. There’s a TIF act under state law.”
Rosenfeld criticized the CTU, which criticized former Mayor Lori Lightfoot for calling on CPS to pick up the pension payment. With Johnson, the CTU has changed its position 180 degrees.
CPS needs one board member to flip their vote, or else a rejection of the budget could lead to a shutdown. Johnson refused to weigh in on the debate but said he doesn’t think that’ll happen.
“There will be no stalemate, there’s no shutdown. We’re committed to making sure our children, no matter where they live, have a world-class education, have a school they can walk to that’s fully funded,” the mayor said.
NewsChicago Public SchoolsPoliticsBrandon JohnsonChicagoEducation