Ernst and Young Principal Adam Chepenik, left, presents during a budget committee hearing on Nov. 10, 2025. [Livestream]

Alderpeople on Monday grilled city budget leaders and a representative from consulting firm Ernst and Young during a Committee on Budget and Government Operations hearing on a report on potential cost-saving and revenue-generating solutions to Chicago’s structural budget gap.

Deputy Corporation Counsel Jessica Felker, left, speaks at a finance committee meeting on Nov. 10, 2025. [Livestream]

The City Council Committee on Finance on Monday advanced a multimillion-dollar legal settlement with a man who’s accused a disgraced former cop of framing him and multiple parks and housing projects proposed for city financial assistance.

Flags fly outside Chicago City Hall. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Finance on Monday will consider a massive legal settlement to resolve a case related to a disgraced former cop and multiple agreements to allocate financial assistance to housing and park projects. The committee will meet at 10:30 a.m. in council chambers.

Ald. Pat Dowell (3) asks OPSA Executive Director Era Patterson questions during a budget hearing on Nov. 6, 2025. [Livestream]

Office of Public Safety Administration (OPSA) Executive Director Era Patterson, who was confirmed in September, talked during a budget hearing last week about how rightsizing and efficiency efforts have reduced spending in an office frequently accused of bloat, with OPSA proposed for its lowest budget since 2021.

CFD Comm. Annette Nance-Holt takes questions from Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) during a budget hearing on Nov. 6, 2025. [Livestream]

Alderpeople asked the head of the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) about cost-saving suggestions from a city-commissioned budget study and about aldermanic notification during emergencies at a budget hearing Thursday.

CPD Supt. Larry Snelling fields questions from Ald. Matt O'Shea (19) during a budget hearing on Nov. 5, 2025. [Livestream]

Alderpeople asked leaders of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) about managing excessive personnel costs and replacement acoustic gunshot detection technology during a budget hearing Wednesday.

Department of Planning and Development Comm. Ciere Boatright is pictured during a press conference at City Hall on April 1, 2025. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Alderpeople asked the head of the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) about the mayor’s proposed massive sweep of tax increment financing (TIF) districts in his 2026 budget plan, as well as its efforts to reduce bureaucratic sluggishness and invest proceeds of the mayor’s billion-dollar bond deal during a budget hearing Tuesday.

Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Comm. Ivan Capifali answers questions from Ald. Brendan Reilly (42) on Nov. 4, 2025. [Livestream]

Regulating hemp-derived products was once again the main topic of discussion at a City Council budget hearing Tuesday, as alderpeople hurled questions and raised concerns about the city’s plan to license and tax hemp products with Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) leadership.

Housing Comm. Lissette Castañeda speaks at a budget hearing on Nov. 4, 2025. [Livestream]

The head of the Chicago Department of Housing (DOH) on Tuesday told members of the budget committee that the city had made excellent strides to maintain and increase the number of affordable housing units citywide.

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, second from right, and Chief of Staff Scott Smith, right, address the County Finance Committee for a budget hearing on Nov. 3, 2025. [Livestream]

The Cook County Assessor’s Office on Monday presented to the County Finance Committee on its proposed 2026 budget, fielding questions about tax bill delays, sticker shock, improvements in assessment accuracy and legislative reforms to provide relief.

Smokestacks are pictured in this file photo.

The City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards held a subject matter hearing Monday on the Hazel Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance, which would set a framework for the city to reduce the impacts of pollution and other environmental hazards in neighborhoods located near manufacturing and heavy industry.

Ald. Anthony Quezada (35) questions DFSS Comm. Angela Green at a budget hearing on Oct. 30, 2025. [Livestream]

Alderpeople questioned the newly confirmed head of the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) on reductions in spending on gender-based violence and the impacts of the government shutdown during a budget hearing last week.

Smokestacks are pictured in this file photo.

The City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards on Monday will consider the Hazel Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance, which proposes a set of policies aimed at reducing the impacts of pollution and other negative environmental conditions detrimental to one’s health that are felt by communities located near land used for heavy industry and manufacturing — communities that are most often primarily Black and Latin American.

Thursday morning’s eight-hour long marathon of Cook County budget hearings started with County Treasurer Maria Pappas providing commissioners with an exhaustive timeline of errors in property tax bill files her department has found, including incorrect data, amounts billed, and duplicates. She said the errors had affected over a million parcels.

Chicago Public Health Comm. Olusimbo Ige is pictured during a press conference at City Hall in January 2024. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

Alderpeople were left without key answers to questions about the mayor’s proposal to tax hemp products, which is one part of his solution to close a $1.2 billion budget gap, during the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) budget hearing Thursday.