Departmental Highlights Snapshot: Appropriation & Staffing Changes from 2025 Budget 2025 Budgeted 2026 Proposed Net Change Percent Change Average Annual Rate of Change (2011-2025) Inflation-adjusted Rate of Change (2011-2024) Appropriations […]
Policy
Posted inResearch & Analysis
Department of Finance – BGA Policy 2026 Budget Snapshot
Departmental Highlights Snapshot: Appropriation & Staffing Changes from 2025 Budget 2025 Budgeted 2026 Proposed Net Change Percent Change Average Annual Change, 2012-2025* Inflation-adjusted Rate of Change (2012-2024) Appropriations $112,325,541 $128,162,674 […]
Posted inResearch & Analysis
Finance General – BGA Policy 2026 Budget Snapshot
The finance general category is a budgetary catch-all for non-departmental spending. There is no dedicated budget hearing devoted specifically to finance general appropriations, although in recent years it has made […]
Posted inResearch & Analysis
Office of the Mayor – BGA Policy 2026 Budget Snapshot
The office of the mayor contains the mayor’s administrative staff and several small offices focused on specific policy areas, such as the Office of Equity and Racial Justice, Office of […]
Posted inResearch & Analysis
Office of Budget and Management – BGA Policy 2026 Budget Snapshot
The Office of Budget and Management (OBM) is responsible for the administration of the city’s budget. Because OBM oversees the preparation of each department’s budget, as well as the non-departmental […]
Posted inResearch & Analysis
2026 Preliminary Budget Overview
Mayor Brandon Johnson released his proposed 2026 budget for the City of Chicago on Thursday, Oct. 16. As in previous years, BGA Policy will release a series of department-specific budget […]
Posted inResearch & Analysis
Budget vs. Actual Spend: Chicago Police Only City Department to Overspend Local Funds Three Years Running
A BGA Policy analysis of actuals and encumbrances data from Chicago’s three most recent budget years (2022-2024) found that most city departments stayed well within their annual non-grant budgets. The […]
Posted inPerspectives
Bryan Zarou: The state of ethics reform in a post-Michael Madigan Illinois
Michael Madigan is going to prison, but Illinois still has work to do to make state government more accountable.
Posted inPolicy Statements
BGA Calls on Illinois Attorney General to Investigate Apparent Violations of the TRUST Act
As a nonpartisan organization dedicated to accountability, transparency and equity within government, the BGA is concerned about recent reporting indicating the Illinois TRUST Act likely is being violated without urgency […]
Posted inPolicy Statements
BGA Supports Cook County Mosquito Abatement Evaluation
Last week, the Better Government Association spoke in front of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and supported a resolution that calls for evaluation of countywide mosquito abatement practices and […]