The City Council’s Budget Committee voted 20-8 to advance the proposal to the full City Council, which could vote on it as early as Wednesday. The panel also agreed to accept $48 million in federal and state grants to care for the migrants.
Toni Preckwinkle
The City Council’s Budget Committee is set to consider the request at a meeting Monday, six weeks after the mayor pointedly declined to join Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle when they announced an agreement to set aside an additional $250 million to care for migrants.
If Illinois continues spending next fiscal year as it has been this year, the state will face an $891 million deficit. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is set to spell out exactly how he plans to address that on Wednesday, when he delivers an annual combined state of the state and budget address.
The hotels were originally used as temporary solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Housing advocates said the hotels are turning out to be significantly more effective than a traditional shelter approach.
That cost is on top of the $150 million already set aside in Chicago’s 2024 budget, the $100 million earmarked in Cook County’s budget to care for the migrants, and $160 million in state funds Pritzker agreed to spend to care for the migrants in mid-November, officials said.
From catching walleye to bringing restoration work out of the dark ages to passage of a groundbreaking tax hike, Arnold Randall reflects on his 13 years as general superintendent of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.
Have you heard of 211? It’s a free hotline connecting Chicago and suburban Cook County residents to everyday services — from housing resources to utility payment assistance.
With CTA, Metra and Pace expected to have a combined $730 million budget deficit starting in 2026, state lawmakers passed a measure charging the regional planning agency CMAP to think big and come up with a plan.
Arnold Randall has announced he will step down at the end of the year as general superintendent of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, a position he's held since 2010.
Neighborhoods on the South and West Sides of Chicago have seen the highest amount of medical debt erased so far, according to officials.
"For the first time in a long time, it is not the budget of an agency in a holding pattern, keeping long-term, pressing needs at bay," Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. "For Fiscal Year 2024, we are moving forward."
Under the “Sun and Save” program, solar photovoltaic systems will be supplied and installed at no cost for income-qualified county residents.
The second-installment of property owners’ 2022 tax bills will be more than 120 days late amid months of bureaucratic wrangling and finger pointing among Cook County officials.
Residents on the West side of the city and its surrounding suburbs were hit particularly hard by flooding. Some areas saw as much as 8 inches of rainfall on July 2, leading to flash floods and extensive property damage.
That expected surplus will more than offset a projected budget gap of $82.6 million during the 2024 fiscal year, more evidence that Cook County’s finances remain on “sturdy” financial footing in the wake of the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle was unsparing in her criticism of Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for continuing to bus thousands of migrants to Democratic cities such as Chicago and New York.
