Under Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act, there is a presumption that government records are open to the public. Body cam footage is an anomaly. Its availability is dictated by the […] ...

The Board of Election Commissioners is established under state elections law and technically is part of the judicial branch, but receives operational funding from the City of Chicago. BoEC oversees ...

The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability recommends candidates for Chicago Police Department and Police Board leadership, drafts and has power to approve CPD policies, and reviews ...

*Historical comparisons are usually made from 2011-2025, however, in the case of CDPH, the pre-pandemic averages from 2011-2020 are presented for comparison. (The 2020 budget was set in late 2019, ...

The Chicago Commission on Human Relations is the investigatory and enforcement agency for Chicago’s Human Rights and Fair Housing ordinances. The Commission also provides support for hate crime ...

The Department of Environment was first established in the 2023 budget as the “Office of Climate and Environmental Equity,” with preliminary appropriations and positions for the department’s formation ...

*Historical comparisons typically cover budget years 2011-2025; for the OIG summary, the years from 2017 onward have been used. 2017 was the first full budget year for which OIG’s current ...

As a self-funded department, the Department of Aviation’s budget resources are less dependent on overall city revenues. Appropriations are typically closely tied to revenues from O’Hare and Midway ...

DoB’s total appropriations have risen at an average annual rate of 1.1% from 2011-2025, an inflation-adjusted decline of -1%, compared to a citywide average rate of 8.3% (inflation-adjusted 4.4%).

Driven by a massive influx of grant funding, DWM’s proposed 2026 budget nearly doubles the previous year’s appropriations, the largest single-year increase in the department’s recent history. Prior to ...

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 snapshots ...

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 ...