Overview

• The board approved the 2025–26 plan 12–7 with one abstention, meeting a state deadline and preventing a shutdown.
• CPS closes a roughly $734 million gap using a record $379 million in projected TIF surplus, debt restructuring and $272 million in internal savings after recent layoffs.
• Sun-Times reporting says no loan was authorized, while the Tribune reported a $200 million borrowing option was included, a point district leaders warned could damage CPS’s credit.
• The plan counts a municipal pension payment only if outside funding materializes, a stance described as a political setback for Mayor Brandon Johnson.
• City Hall now projects a $146 million 2025 shortfall and a 2026 gap near $1.2 billion, with officials signaling the TIF surplus may fall short of CPS assumptions.