In 2027 budget forecast, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson touts deficit reduction

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson released his 2027 budget forecast on Thursday.

The projections estimate that the city's budget deficit has been reduced to $882.4 million, down from an estimated $1.2 billion shortfall the year before.

"This forecast shows that while significant fiscal challenges exist, my administration's approach is working. Through our responsible stewardship of public resources and our use of proven, structural progressive revenues, we are addressing the City's long-term financial health," Mayor Johnson said in a news release. "At the same time, Chicago's diverse economy is growing, violent crime is at historic lows, and we are making critical, community-driven investments in our residents' futures. In the coming weeks, we will propose a balanced budget designed to protect essential services, bolster our community safety efforts, expand investments in our neighborhoods, and build the safest, most affordable big city in America."

The Mayor's office said the budget gap reduction was made possible by an overperformance of local revenues such as the Online Sports Wagering and Personal Property Lease Tax, as well as the city's control of expenditures through cost-saving measures, monetization of city assets, and doing more with available resources.

While taking credit for bringing down the deficit over the past year, the mayor also criticized the alderpeople who created last year's budget despite his objections.

The City Council approved a $16.6 billion spending plan opposed by the mayor in December 2025. While Mayor Johnson had backed a corporate head tax, his opponents' budget relied on an increase in the city's plastic bag tax, overhauling the tax on off-premise liquor sales, legalizing video gambling terminals in Chicago, and opening up new advertising opportunities.

Mayor Johnson declined to veto the budget that was approved. But he blamed the budget for the forecast that the city will end 2026 with a shortfall of $85.1 million, which he said was driven by "underperformance of speculative revenues."

The Johnson administration said it recently announced it would close the 2026 budget gap by realizing up to $71 million in savings by refinancing city bonds and redeploying reserves from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.