Anecdotal evidence abounds to support these programs. No allegations of waste or fraud. But the city's impulse to hide from Qs like "what's your evidence for sustaining youth employment" is feeding its trust deficit w/ City Council as they strain to pass a budget by 12/31.
/END
Budget officials said they conducted a "sustainability analysis" for whether each ARPA-funded program should be preserved.
So we FOIA'd for that analysis. After more than a month of delays, they finally delivered last night, and almost every page looks like this:
Still, alders say the administration hasn't provided enough info on these programs to justify keeping them in such a tough budget.
City budget office has an ARPA "Impact Dashboard," but KPIs are spotty, and it's unclear which orgs have received many grants.
t.co/ZG487WcS3i
Johnson admin argues these programs are working & deserve to stay.
Axing them would trim less than 3% of the budget deficit. And it's easier to say "cut ARPA programs" than it is to argue, say, "cut resources for domestic violence survivors."
The proposed spending includes:
💵$7M to preserve 62 employee positions, mostly for mental health emergency responders
💵 $10.6B for One Summer Chicago & other youth programing
💵 $5.5M for DV programming (incl some restored post- original proposal)
💵 $5.1M for homelessness
New from me: budget hawks have called on
@chicagosmayor.bsky.social to cut ARPA-funded programs before considering any new taxes. But it's been hard to nail down the exact price tag of federal programs the mayor wants to keep.
After six weeks of reporting, we found the number: about $33M.
Northwestern and Columbia being famous for journalism and bending over for Trump seems a little too on the nose these days
Must-read @skpineda.bsky.social on how a U-turn in federal housing policy is about to make it much harder for Chicago and other cities to fight homelessness:
Homeowners in poor neighborhoods face steep property tax hikes while downtown office building owners pay less. From @adquig.bsky.social and @alexnitkin.bsky.social
Dec. 2.
Come by to learn more about our work, and how you can support it!
illinoisanswers.org/event/how-jo...
Important story from @meredithnewman.bsky.social on a symptom of the state's eroding public health infrastructure: mentally ill defendants spiraling in jail for months while they wait for psychiatric beds — sometimes with fatal consequences
illinoisanswers.org/2025/11/11/t...
So not only does the massive transit package passed last night fill the funding gap, it *boosts* ops funding by roughly the size of the gap, eliminates parking minimums within a half mile of rail stations, and gives the new regional transit board sweeping powers to do public development
Tune into @wbez.org at 9 a.m. to hear me do my best to recap the whirlwind veto session that landed a $1.5 billion transit package on the governor's desk:
www.wbez.org
I'm not in Springfield, but I did get a full night of sleep last night!
Watch the live House committee debate, with Rep. Delgado answering questions about the bill:
ilga.gov/House/AudioV...
Read our story on the history and limitations of the RTA sales tax, which is being proposed for an increase:
illinoisanswers.org/2025/10/28/l...
A loophole lets counties spend millions in transit taxes not on transit...but on jails & courts
Now, to save Chicago transit from cuts, lawmakers want to use those funds.
The idea met a fierce backlash.
📝 @gracehauck.bsky.social & @alexnitkin.bsky.social
illinoisanswers.org/2025/10/28/l...
At a series of meetings last year, residents in the collar counties begged for better transit. Still, some leaders are opting to take even more money out of transportation in favor of law enforcement.
These counties use some of the money to fund dial-a-ride transit services that have made life possible for people who in the suburbs who don't drive.
illinoisanswers.org/2025/10/28/c...
The programs have shown a path forward for suburban transit. But they have big shortcomings:
A proposal emerged this spring that would have clawed back the RTA tax dollars for use by a new regional transportation authority.
County leaders fought back, saying it would deprive them of money they need for street resurfacing, cops and courts.
The funding mismatch is allowed thanks to a 2008 state law that was negotiated, in part, by a DuPage County state legislator named Kirk Dillard.
We talked to Dillard, who now chairs the RTA. He disavowed his role in the loophole being added.
The collars last year collected a combined $193M in
@rtachicago.bsky.social sales taxes. They spent less than 2% of it on a loose web of fledgling transit services. The rest went to roadway engineering and — thanks to a legal loophole — law enforcement.
datawrapper.dwcdn.net/RLcPS/7/
As transit funding hangs in the balance in veto session this week, @gracehauck.bsky.social and I have a pair of stories looking at the stakes for a part of the state that's gotten relatively little attention: the collar counties.
t.co/oswatwJcdQ
And here’s @blockclubchi.bsky.social’s great coverage of what happened yesterday:
blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/21/i...
Huynh released this video of the encounter:
IL State Rep. Hoan Huynh says CBP agents surrounded his car and drew a gun on him on the Northwest Side of Chicago this morning
Johnson's budget address touts the city's effort to seize and resell properties from derelict landlord Suzie B. Wilson.
ICYMI, @ctoner and @mina_bloom_ found the city has fallen far behind its goals here:
illinoisanswers.org/2025/10/15/h...
Alders are eagerly awaiting a breakdown of how much money is being drawn from each TIF.
(The rest of us are, too)
Johnson Admin is proposing an unprecedented $1B surplus from TIF districts. About 52% of that will go to
CPS and 24% will go to the City, per property tax allocations.
City TIFs generated $1.36B in 2023.
City employee headcount continues to decline under mayor's proposal, with 443 fewer full-time equivalent employees in '26 than '25.
ARP funds, which must be spent by 12/31/26, to back eight city positions next year.
(Reminder: City has not provided a list of ARP-funded employees)
.@chicagosmayor.bsky.social is proposing to use the revived business head tax (coined the Community Safety Surcharge) to bankroll a new Community Safety Fund.
Lot of these programs were started, expanded and/or sustained through ARPA— looks like this is how the admin is looking to keep them going
In summary, a reality check: get ready for a long and painful budget season, because all the easy levers have already been pulled. There are not enough "cuts and efficiencies" that can close a $1.2B budget hole on their own without impairing/reducing city services.
