(Ken Teegardin / Flickr)

Just how big is the city’s budget deficit? And will Mayor Lori Lightfoot propose new taxes to close it? Lightfoot will likely spell out some of that in a much-anticipated “State of the City” address Thursday evening. Here’s a preview.

Brian Battle, director of Performance Trust Capital Partners, speaks about the city’s growing pension liability with WTTW News on July 8, 2019.

The city of Chicago saw a little more tax revenue than expected last year. That’s the sliver of good news in a new report that spells out the bleak long-term financial forecast.

 “The reason we haven’t solved the pension problem is because of political will, pure and simple,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Monday, July 1, 2019.

If Chicago wants to ease its pension problems, it’ll need $1 billion in new taxes over the next three years. But Mayor Lori Lightfoot reportedly has another plan up her sleeve.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker appears at a signing ceremony for the $40 billion spending plan Wednesday, June 5, 2019. (WTTW News)

Does Illinois really have a balanced budget? Local analysts weigh in.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot waves after being sworn in during her inauguration ceremony Monday, May 20, 2019. (AP Photo / Jim Young)

It’s her first week in office, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot doesn’t have time to waste when it comes to city finances. How can Chicago address its fiscal troubles?

A new wrinkle on the age-old tale of Illinois’ pension mess. Our politics team digests the top stories of the week.

Illinois' new governor cites a list of early accomplishments. But the fate of his biggest plans, including overhauling how the state taxes its residents, is still up in the air.

Illinois’ long-term pension debt tops $130 billion. What Gov. J.B. Pritzker plans to do – and what he won’t do – about that crushing burden.

New developments in the federal investigation of Ald. Ed Burke. Mayor Rahm Emanuel swings for the fences on pensions. Mayoral petition challenges are heating up. And the Bears look to avenge their loss to the Packers.

“No one thing is going to solve the problem across four funds,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said of Chicago’s pension crisis on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel makes a major announcement on addressing the city’s pension crisis. What the plan calls for – and what it means moving forward.

In this file photo, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks to the media on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018.

He may be leaving office soon, but Mayor Rahm Emanuel is about to put forward a proposal that’s likely to generate controversy as the race for his successor heats up.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (Chicago Tonight file photo)

In his final budget before leaving office, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is promising no major tax or fee increases, but there are significant new costs. How will they be paid for?

Could profits from public assets like Midway Airport help fund Chicago’s pensions? The former mayor of Highland Park thinks so.

(Ken Teegardin / Flickr)

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has floated the idea of selling more than $10 billion in pension obligation bonds. We dig into the idea.

Attorney and former Chicago Ald. Bob Fioretti represented the city of Harvey. (Chicago Tonight file photo)

The city of Harvey finally strikes a deal with its underwater police and fire pension funds. What it could mean for hundreds of other Illinois towns.

(Ken Teegardin / Flickr)

With billions in unfunded pension liabilities, what options remain for lawmakers to defuse the state’s pension time bomb?