The stopgap budget compromise reached between the General Assembly and Gov. Bruce Rauner will fund government operations for the next six months and ensure that schools open on time in the fall.
Until CPS passes necessary spending and pension reforms, giving any additional money to the system will only reward officials’ mismanagement and reckless behavior.
The average single-family home in Chicago will see a $400 increase in property taxes. And property-tax revenues for the city of Chicago will top $1 billion for the first time in city history.
On May 30, the General Assembly voted to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to delay payments to Chicago’s police and fire pension funds – at a cost to Chicago taxpayers of an additional $18.6 billion over the next 40 years.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.