Overview

• Board members approved the 2025–26 budget in a 12–7 vote with one abstention, meeting a legal deadline to keep schools open.
• Accounts diverge on borrowing: the Tribune reports the plan added authority for a $200 million loan, while the Sun-Times reports no loan authorization and no guarantee of the $175 million municipal pension reimbursement.
• The plan assumes $379 million from tax increment financing surplus, a record amount that is not yet confirmed.
• CPS is closing a $734 million gap after layoffs and service reductions, with additional measures including restructuring $1.8 billion in debt and $272 million in central office savings and repurposed grants.
• CFO Miroslava Meija Krug warned a $200 million loan could cost an estimated $394 million over 15 years and risk the district’s credit, as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s late appointment of Ángel Vélez helped secure a board majority.