Human Resources Comm. Sandra Blakemore testifies at a budget hearing on Dec. 3, 2024. [Livestream]

The city’s Department of Human Resources presented its budget to the City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations Tuesday, but allegations of harassment and inappropriate comments against the mayor’s former communications director hung over the hearing.

Ald. Maria Hadden (49) asks Environment Comm. Angela Tovar questions at a budget hearing on Dec. 3, 2024. [Livestream]

Department of Environment officials appeared before the city’s budget committee Tuesday to present the department’s proposed budget for the second year after being reestablished in the 2024 budget. However, the department’s powers remain an echo of what they had previously been.

Ald. Daniel La Spata (1) talks with reporters about the request for Plow the Sidewalks pilot program funding in the 2025 budget on Dec. 2, 2024. [Provided by Better Streets Chicago]

Chicago alderpeople and disability rights, pedestrian and active transit advocates are calling on the mayor to include $1 million in funding in the city’s budget for a pilot program for municipal plowing of sidewalks.

Eileen O'Neill Burke addresses supporters at Moe's Cantina in River North after winning the state's attorney election on Nov. 5, 2024. [Provided]

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke officially was sworn in Monday and immediately laid out the office’s approach to pre-trial detention under her leadership.

Eileen O'Neill Burke addresses supporters at Moe's Cantina in River North after winning the state's attorney election on Nov. 5, 2024. [Provided]

Eileen O’Neill Burke, the incoming Cook County State’s Attorney, filled out the rest of her transition team last week with the announcement of various policy subcommittees and their leaders.

The flag of Cook County hangs outside the county building in downtown Chicago. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Cook County’s Manufacturing Reinvented grant program notched the County Bureau of Economic Development its first-ever Chicago Innovation Award.

Aviation Comm. Jamie Rhee answers questions from Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36) during a budget hearing on Nov. 22, 2024. [Livestream]

Leaders from the Chicago Department of Aviation presented their proposed 2025 budget Friday afternoon, which is proposed to drop slightly while adding more than a hundred new positions. 

Next year, the aviation department’s budget is set to decrease to $1.5 billion under Mayor Brandon Johnson’s spending plan, a 2 percent drop from the 2024 budget. The number of full-time positions is set to rise to 2,392 positions, 110 more compared to 2024.

Comm. Bridget Degnen (D-12) speaks at a news conference about a 2025 budget amendment funding wraparound services for reproductive health patients on Nov. 21, 2024. [Livestream]

The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved its 2025 budget during a special meeting Thursday. The $9.94 billion adopted budget – which includes $2 million for patients’ reproductive health services – represents a roughly 7.3 percent increase over last year’s $9.26 billion adopted budget.

Ald. Marty Quinn (13), top right, questions 2FM Comm. Julie Hernandez-Tomlin during a budget hearing Nov. 21, 2024. [Livestream]

The Department of Fleet and Facility Management (2FM) defended its proposed 2025 budget to alderpeople at a budget committee hearing on Thursday. Leaders for 2FM discussed vacant mechanic positions and progress on transitioning the city’s facilities to renewable energy and vehicles off fossil fuels.

Streets and Sanitation Comm. Cole Stallard attends a budget hearing on Nov. 20, 2024. [Livestream]

The city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) presented a largely flat budget proposal for the 2025 fiscal year at a Committee on Budget and Government Operations hearing Wednesday. 

DSS handles trash collection, street sweeping, rodent abatement, towing of illegally parked cars, graffiti removal and tree trimming.

Mayor Brandon Johnson delivers his 2025 budget address on Oct. 30, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday the property tax hike proposed in next year’s budget had been reduced by $150 million as a result of ongoing negotiations with members of the City Council. The announcement came days after alderpeople unanimously voted down the mayor’s proposed $300 million increase.

Leaders of the Chicago Fire Department answer budget questions during a hearing on Nov. 19, 2024. [Livestream]

The Chicago Fire Department (CFD) defended its proposed 2025 budget before the City Council’s budget committee on Tuesday, addressing overtime costs and its vehicle replacement schedule.

Ald. William Hall (6) attends a City Council meeting on Oct. 9, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Ald. William Hall (6) plans to put forth an ordinance that would regulate and tax hemp-derived products and the businesses that sell them in the city while also attempting to keep currently unregulated intoxicating hemp-derived products out of children’s hands. 

“Our role as a city is to identify it, say it's present, say that it's here and to say we want to make sure that it's safe but also get our fair share of sustainable revenue,” Hall told The Daily Line last week. “It's a black market of upwards of close to $400 million annually.”

Police Supt. Larry Snelling answers questions at a budget hearing Nov. 15, 2024. [Livestream]

The Chicago Police Department (CPD) defended its budget Friday before the City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations, and the superintendent addressed proposed cuts to its constitutional policing office and mental health clinician positions.

Next year, CPD’s budget is set to rise from $2.03 billion this year to $2.09 billion next year. The department’s budget is 86.6 percent funded by the city’s Corporate Fund. Next year, the department is set to lose 456 vacant positions. Contractual services will be down next year 84 percent after rising due to expenses for the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC), Illinois Department of Transportation license plate readers and and grant reductions, according to Janice Oda-Gray, chief administrative officer of the Council Office of Financial Analysis. 

“We're going to keep broadening the resources available to our officers, so that they can best serve the people of Chicago,” Police Supt. Larry Snelling said in his opening remarks to the committee. 

Mayor Brandon Johnson presides over a City Council meeting on Oct. 9, 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council voted down Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $300 million property tax increase proposal at a special meeting Thursday, meaning the city will have to find other ways to close a $982.4 million budget gap.

“I will negotiate the details of this budget, but I will not negotiate my values,” the mayor said Thursday. “Too many past budgets have left the people of Chicago behind, and I'm determined to chart a new course.”