CHICAGO — As Chicago prepares its 2027 budget, today Mayor Brandon Johnson released the 2027 Budget Engagement Report, highlighting priorities shared by residents who participated in the City's budget engagement process, including protecting essential services, investing in neighborhoods, and pursuing taxes on large corporations as a more equitable approach to raising revenue and balancing the budget.

"Chicagoans know what their communities need, and as we have been drafting our next budget, we've been listening to them," said Mayor Brandon Johnson. "Hundreds of participants told us they want us to protect the services they rely on, invest in neighborhoods that have been left behind, and ask corporations to pay their fair share to support the city we all call home. We're taking that input seriously as we address the City's fiscal realities in the 2027 budget."

The University of Illinois Chicago's Neighborhoods Initiative at the Great Cities Institute partnered with the City's Office of Budget and Management (OBM) and Mayor's Office of Community Engagement to design, conduct, and analyze the engagement process. Five in-person events across the city drew 446 attendees, with roundtables held across the North Side, South Side, Southwest Side, and West Side, as well as a dedicated youth roundtable in the Central area.

The engagement garnered 591 survey responses and a new interactive budget game in which 74 groups participated. The process reached residents across age groups and neighborhoods, with the dedicated youth engagement bringing additional young, Black, and Latino participants into the conversation.

When asked to select potential revenue sources, 88% of public engagement respondents (ages 25 and up) and 74% of youth respondents (ages 14 to 24) selected increasing taxes on large corporations, making it the leading revenue option for both groups.

57% of public engagement respondents favored maintaining current services even if doing so required higher taxes or fees.

Participants also strongly supported increased investment in housing affordability and homelessness. Eighty-four percent of public engagement respondents and 80% of youth respondents favored increased funding through either new revenue or reallocation of existing resources.

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Open-ended responses similarly called for greater fiscal accountability, more efficient use of existing resources, and a more equitable approach to raising revenue, including from large corporations, higher-income households, and tax-exempt institutions.

Neighborhood investment was also a consistent priority. Investing in jobs, businesses, and infrastructure in historically disinvested neighborhoods was the leading economic development priority among both public engagement and youth respondents.

Participants also identified neighborhood arts programming, affordable housing, libraries, food access, local businesses, community organizations, and public spaces as important priorities.

In community safety, prevention, accountability, and community policing together accounted for 70% of responses, substantially more than maintaining police services and presence alone.

The new budget game gave residents an opportunity to make collective choices under a simplified budget constraint. After groups faced an additional budget challenge, 73 of 74 groups used at least one additional revenue option, rather than responding to the challenge through cuts alone. The report notes that the game was designed as an educational engagement exercise and does not represent the full City budget.

"Playing the budget scenario game allowed residents to experience first-hand the types of tough decisions that the mayor makes in creating the annual budget, as well as the real constraints that the City faces," said Mayor's Office Director of Community Engagement Sara Mathers. "As they went through their decision process, residents grappled with its complexity—but also reported that they were even more determined that the budget not be balanced on the backs of working people."

The findings are being considered alongside the City's fiscal analysis and other budget information as the administration finalizes its proposed FY2027 budget.

"Sustainable, progressive revenue sources can mitigate many of Chicago's long-term financial challenges while limiting the financial burden on the residents who can least afford to pay more in taxes," said Acting Budget Director Jonathan Ernst. "The progressive revenue sources included in Mayor Johnson's budget proposal last year outperformed our expectations and were a leading indicator for how to build the 2027 budget."

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The report follows the findings of the Chicago Financial Future Task Force, whose Options for Chicago's Financial Future report drew on input from more than 700 participants across Chicago through surveys, public roundtables, and focus groups. Because some residents participated in more than one activity, the total reflects participation across engagement activities rather than a count of unique individuals.

The findings of the 2027 Budget Engagement Report echo those of the Task Force report, particularly around the importance of an equitable approach to addressing Chicago's fiscal challenges and ensuring residents across neighborhoods can count on reliable City services.

"We heard that residents recognize Chicago faces serious fiscal challenges, but how we address those challenges matters. A sustainable fiscal system also needs to be an equitable one, one that considers who bears the costs, who benefits, and whether residents across neighborhoods can count on reliable City services," said Great Cities Associate Director of the Neighborhoods Initiative Institute Thea Crum.

Participants in the Budget Engagement roundtable sessions also called for more sustained community engagement, including direct, timely communication throughout the budget process.

In response, today, Mayor Johnson and OBM are announcing a new way for residents to communicate directly with the mayor and City finance officials about their budget priorities.

Residents may share their stories of how the budget affects them and their communities by emailing MyChiBudget@CityofChicago.org,

Residents who submit their budget stories will be sent timely updates about the City's budget process, including opportunities to speak directly with City officials and other budget stakeholders.

Chicago's projected $882 million budget gap for 2027 is $284 million smaller than estimates from a year ago.

The budget gap reduction is driven by the overperformance of local revenues, especially the progressive, structural revenues introduced by the Johnson administration, such as Online Sports Wagering and the Personal Property Lease Tax (PPLT), as well as the City's careful control of expenditures through cost-savings strategies implemented across City departments, enhanced collection and enforcement efforts, and a shared dedication to doing more with the resources available.

The full 2027 City of Chicago Budget Engagement Report is available to the public here.

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