Budget hearings are over. The last one featured the watchdog whose $8.1 billion debt audit is now the Council majority's main argument

The Council's Budget Committee held its last department hearing Tuesday, with the Office of Inspector General, the Department of Law, the Police Board, the Board of Ethics, the License Appeal Commission and the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (meeting page). Ten department hearing days are done; the budget now moves to negotiations and, in December, the Council floor.

Why it matters: the same day, 28 alderpersons told Mayor Brandon Johnson his budget can't pass and that the City should collect what it is owed before raising taxes (our story). The number they cite, more than $8.1 billion, comes from the Inspector General.

The Inspector General's own budget

Inspector General David Glockner presented the office's request to Chair Jason Ervin (28th) and the committee, Chicago City Wire reported:

• Money: about $14.6 million for 2027, up from about $14.3 million in 2026.
• Positions: 111, down from 118. The office said it would eliminate five vacancies, one job expected to come open by year's end, and one filled communications position it no longer needs, saving about $517,000.
• More cuts on offer: like other departments, it was asked for a budget flat to the budget office's starting point, and it sent a supplemental list of about $319,000 in further possible cuts.
• Technology: non-personnel costs are about 14% of the budget, roughly $2 million, and more than two-thirds of that is IT. IT costs rise about $519,000 in 2027 as the office moves its systems onto City infrastructure and the cloud, which Glockner said should save money over time.

City Wire did not report members' questions. Our video and transcript of Tuesday's hearing aren't posted yet; when they are, every member's questions, including to the Law Department, will be on the meeting page.

The $8.1 billion

The audit, released April 16, found the Department of Finance "lacks foundational management tools" for City debt: overdue charges for services, unpaid Municipal Code fines, ambulance bills, and interest and collection costs. The Inspector General's summary says:

• The total is at least $8.1 billion, and the City may not be able to confirm the full amount.
• No department knows the total; Finance doesn't track what other departments hold.
• Some of the debt dates to the 1990s.
• The debt falls hardest on residents in areas with concentrated fines and fees and higher poverty.

Finance's response included exploring writing off uncollectible debt and removing it from its systems. "The City is in dire financial straits," then-Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said. "We simply cannot operate without a clear view of this mountain of uncollected debt."

The coalition's letter says about $3 billion of the total could potentially be collected, FOX 32 reported. The audit itself doesn't say how much is collectible, and that is the catch: much of a decades-old balance may never come in.

Debt has been a budget source before. Last year the Council approved a plan to sell $89.6 million in City debt; Johnson called it "morally bankrupt" and says no private buyers were found, CBS Chicago reported.

What else the hearings turned up

Members spent much of 10 days asking about money already in hand: a $58 million Treasurer's fund whose board hasn't met in years (story), TIF districts with cash and no surplus (story), and Ernst & Young savings that haven't happened (story). The Inspector General's draft 2027 public safety plan, with a study of 911 calls that wait for an officer, is open for comment through Dec. 31 (story).

What's next

• Nov. 12: the Police and Fire Committee's hearing on domestic violence funding (story).
• Nov. 16: Finance Committee (meeting page).
• Dec. 8: the public hearing on the budget (R2026-0029546); Dec. 31: the deadline.