What Chicago's 2027 budget would spend more on, from libraries to tree crews, and what it cuts

Johnson's plan adds about $31 million for libraries, $30 million for homelessness and rent help, and $24 million for summer jobs, with nearly $120 million in cuts. The Council can still change all of it.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Oct 23, 2026

Most of the argument over Mayor Brandon Johnson's 2027 budget is about taxes. But the $17.6 billion plan also decides what the City does more of next year, and what it does less of. Here is what the Mayor proposed to spend more on, what he proposed to cut, and what our records show about how the Council has handled spending it did not write.

Why it matters: library hours, tree trimming, summer jobs, mental health response and homeless services are the parts of the budget residents use directly. The Council can move money among them, add to them or cut them before it votes.

Where the budget adds money

From the Mayor's Oct. 21 address and reporting by Block Club Chicago:

Libraries: about $30.9 million more from the Corporate Fund for the Chicago Public Library, bringing its proposed budget to $166.9 million, a 10% increase. Block Club reported the money is meant to close the library's structural deficit and fix staff shortages, including a lack of drivers that delayed holds for months. Johnson said libraries would be fully funded "without raising property taxes" (watch at 1:08:41).
Homelessness and housing: an added $15 million for homeless services, $13 million in rental assistance and $2 million for the Flexible Housing Pool (1:11:25). Block Club reported nearly $100 million in total for housing and homeless programs, plus $69 million in federal pandemic relief money directed to housing and homelessness services.
Youth jobs: $24 million more to hire 40,000 young people next summer (1:08:16).
Violence prevention: a $40.6 million investment in community violence intervention, with 390 street outreach workers and more than 800 peacekeepers (1:02:21). Block Club reported a proposed Department of Community Wellness building on the Office of Gun Violence Reduction.
Mental health: expanding the CARE crisis response program to seven days a week and opening a new City mental health clinic, Block Club reported.
Streets and Sanitation: doubling the quality-of-life crews that clean vacant lots, and 10 more forestry crews to trim 15,000 more trees (57:52), plus five rodent control crews, per Block Club.
Homeowners near Jackson Park: $2.5 million for the Jackson Park property tax relief pilot, which Johnson credited to Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th) and community advocates (1:12:42).

Where it cuts

Block Club counted nearly $120 million in cuts, including $34.4 million in personnel savings from eliminating and freezing vacant positions. The administration froze about 500 vacant police positions and 200 others in the 2026 budget, and fewer would be frozen in 2027, Block Club reported. The acting budget director declined to say which departments would be affected.

At the Oct. 23 Budget Committee hearing, the administration said $52.2 million of the 2027 savings came from Ernst & Young's efficiency work (watch). Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd) warned against savings that cut frontline staff (1:46:57).

What our records add

The Council has told the Mayor to spend its budget as written. After the Council passed its own 2026 revenue ordinance without the Mayor's head tax, Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th) introduced a resolution calling on the administration to implement the 2026 budget package. It had 30 co-sponsors and was adopted 50 to 0 on April 15, 2026.

How each ward voted

50 yea · Apr 15, 2026 · Adopted

Yea Nay

R2026-0023372: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

The spending plan itself is one record. The Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Recommendations (O2026-0029642) were introduced Oct. 21 and referred to committee. The detailed appropriations will be in the budget book, which Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), the Budget Committee chair, said would be available for public inspection by Oct. 26 (2:17:26).

Hearings are where members ask for changes. Each Budget Committee hearing from Oct. 26 to Nov. 10 covers specific departments. Our meeting pages post video and searchable transcripts, so you can find what your alderperson asked: start with the Oct. 26 hearing.

What's next

Block Club reported that Johnson expects alderpersons to support the housing and homelessness money, even as the head tax faces opposition. If the Council cuts revenue, it will have to cut spending or find other money to keep the budget balanced. The public hearing on the budget is Dec. 8 at 11:30 a.m., and the budget must pass by Dec. 31.

Sources: Block Club Chicago: Mayor proposes package tax, corporate head tax (again).