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Good morning, Chicago. We hope you had a nice and cozy fall weekend. Start your Monday with these stories from WTTW News. |
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Chicago Police Department Headquarters, 3510 S. Michigan Ave. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News) |
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Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed budget for 2026 would impose new limits on overtime spending by the Chicago Police Department while acknowledging it was unrealistic to expect CPD to spend less than $200 million next year to compensate officers for working extra hours.
In all, CPD’s budget is set to swell to $2.1 billion, increasing by $37.9 million to cover the cost of salary increases required by agreements with unions representing members. That includes an estimated savings of $30 million from a partial hiring freeze of long vacant positions, officials said.
Johnson’s proposed spending plan would double CPD’s overtime budget from $100 million to $200 million, the first increase since 2020, when the budget for police overtime went from $95 million to $100 million, records show.
Budget Director Annette Guzman told reporters Supt. Larry Snelling said he was confident CPD would spend less than $200 million on overtime next year. However, Chicago taxpayers have already paid $190.1 million to officers for working extra hours through September, according to a database published by Inspector General Deborah Witzburg.
Some backstory:
CPD has spent at least $17 million and as much as $27.5 million every month on overtime, according to the watchdog’s database. That means CPD is on track to spend at least $241 million on overtime by the end of the year, according to a WTTW analysis.
The spending plan will require CPD brass to submit monthly reports about its overtime spending to the City Council, and require the City Council to hold hearings every three months “to ensure transparency and accountability.”
Although a similar ordinance requires the City Council to hold hearings twice a year to look into efforts to comply with a court order requiring officers to stop routinely violating Black and Latino residents’ constitutional rights, it failed to hold those hearings for 15 months.
If CPD exhausts its budget for overtime, as it did this year by June, it will have to ask the City Council to appropriate more funds, officials said.
CPD has exceeded its annual overtime budget for seven straight years.
In 2024, CPD spent a total of $273.8 million on overtime, 6.5% less than in 2023, according to a WTTW News analysis.
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Toni Preckwinkle appears on the Oct. 16, 2025, episode of "Chicago Tonight." (WTTW News) |
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As Chicago wrestles with its own budget challenges, Cook County is putting forth a $10.1 billion budget proposal for the 2026 fiscal year. The plan includes no new taxes or fees, but things aren’t all in the clear. Officials warn of tough waters in the years ahead as potential federal funding cuts threaten to hit the county’s bottom line.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said there’s “turmoil” ahead with the Trump administration’s targeting of the Chicago area when she unveiled the plan. The warning is a stark contrast from the “good news budget” she pitched for the last fiscal year. The spending plan closes a previously forecasted budget gap of more than $211 million. There’s no employee layoffs, but there is a hiring freeze for the county. This plan also calls for setting aside $65 million to replace essential services paid for by federal money. Preckwinkle has been able to balance the county’s budget without new taxes or fees for several years, which could be harder to do as Congress and the Trump administration aim to cut federal funds for local programs.
Preckwinkle told WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight” on Thursday that despite these funding uncertainties, the county is still in good financial shape. Click here to hear her talk about potential Medicaid cuts, responding to the Trump administration and her reelection bid. |
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Courtney Thomas, left, and Salvador Ramirez, right, practice their basketball skills at the UIC Flames Athletic Center on Oct. 16, 2025. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News) |
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Southside Occupational Academy student Courtney Thomas was no stranger to playing basketball when he stepped on the court at the UIC Flames Athletic Center Thursday morning. Thomas was among a group of about 50 people with disabilities who joined the UIC Flames women’s basketball team as part of an event organized by the Beautiful Lives Project. The organization works to empower those with disabilities through sports and arts programming across the country.
Participants practiced with Flames players on skills like defense, passing, dribble work and form shooting.
More about the Beautiful Lives Project:
The group of participants included those with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. Many were students attending schools in Chicago, including some adults in day programs, according to Bryce Weiler, co-founder of the Beautiful Lives Project.
This year marked the fourth year the organization partnered with the UIC Flames women’s basketball team for an event, according to Weiler. To kick off the event, head coach Ashleen Bracey gave a pep talk to participants by telling them about three rules: work hard, encourage each other and have fun.
Since 2017, the Beautiful Lives Project has hosted more than 200 events across the U.S.
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Back in the Day: October 20, 1934 - Jazz Saxophonist Eddie Harris Born in Chicago
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On this day 91 years ago, the pioneering jazz saxophonist Eddie Harris was born in Chicago. He learned to play the clarinet, vibraphone and saxophone while attending DuSable High School in Chicago and studied under the jazz director Captain Walter Dyatt. His skills were honed in the Army when he was selected to play the saxophone with the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra in Europe. An experimentalist and innovator in sound, Harris would tweak his instruments — combining the mouthpieces for a tenor saxophone and a trombone or being one of the first to use an electrified saxophone. He’d record dozens of albums as a solo and featured artist including several best-sellers like 1970’s “Swiss Movement,” the Grammy-nominated 1967 "The Electrifying Eddie Harris" and his 1961 debut "Exodus to Jazz." He died of congestive heart failure in 1996.
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Learn about sponsorship opportunities. |
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This Week’s Civic Events and Meetings |
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Every Monday, WTTW News highlights the best ways to get involved with local government.
WTTW
Join WTTW and the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, on Tuesday for a special screening and discussion of Independent Lens’ “Camp Widow,” a documentary that examines how resilience and community are built in the aftermath of widowhood and loss. Following the film, stay for a panel discussion featuring Michel Neff Hernandez, filmmaker and CEO, Soaring Spirits International; Amy Schiller, Ph.D., Crown Family School lecturer; and Jim Spelman, a Chicago-based artist whose personal story of loss is featured in the film. This event is free, but RSVP is required. More details can be found here.
University of Chicago
On Friday, the UChicago Crown Family School and the Inclusive Economy Lab are hosting an all-day summit called "Families at the Center: Building a Chicago Without Homelessness." The conference features leading experts, practitioners and researchers, and a keynote conversation with Marcia Fudge, former U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The event is free, but registration here is required. |
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What's your favorite gameday meal in Chicago for watching the Bears?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
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Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more. |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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