Mayor Brandon Johnson teamed up with mayors from around the state and headed for Springfield to push back on Gov. JB Pritzker’s planned reductions for local government funding in this year’s proposed budget.
Proposed by Pritzker in February, the budget for the upcoming fiscal year reduced funding for local governments by 6.47% to 6.23% of the state’s individual income tax revenue. The percentage change would cost municipalities an estimated $60 million, including $12.7 million in Chicago alone, according to Johnson and the other mayors.
“At a time when cities across the nation are navigating rising costs and compounding pressures resulting from federal funding cuts, every dollar is essential,” said Johnson. “While we acknowledge the steps that leaders in Springfield have taken to navigate the fiscal challenges that Illinois is facing, we cannot balance the state fund or state budget on the backs of local governments.”
The same federal funding cuts mentioned by Johnson have put the governor’s back up against the wall in trying to craft a fair budget that deals with federal funding uncertainty. A number of state agencies saw slight funding reductions in the governor’s February proposal as Pritzker emphasized that this year’s budget would be tight.
“At a time when states are facing fiscal uncertainty driven by the Trump Administration, Governor Pritzker’s FY27 budget holds local governments harmless, maintains the same income tax dollars as last year, and continues record levels of overall support,” said a spokesperson for the governor’s office in a statement.
They also argued that, since taking office in 2019, Pritzker has bumped up funding for local governments by nearly $1 billion.
In an attempt to carve out some support for local governments, state Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-Chicago Heights) proposed reducing administrative fees the state charges local municipalities. His plan would scrape back another $65 million dollars for local governments and incrementally bump local government funding up to 8% of income tax revenue over a handful of years.
DeLuca’s proposal was backed by the Illinois Municipal League, which represents 275 mayors and local governments across the state.
“There’s going to be lots of things that get lots of money in the budget, and this is something that should be a priority,” said Brad Cole, the league’s CEO. “We’re talking about maintaining the current level, current rate of the distribution for the [local government fund], and we think that’s a priority that the General Assembly can support.”
Lawmakers have a May 31 deadline to approve a budget before it makes its way to Pritzker for his signature.