Welcome to Newswire — your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what action we can take to make our city great, featuring public meeting coverage by City Bureau’s Documenters.

Quote/Term of the Week

“Gov. Pritzker and the General Assembly could fully fund our schools and give the city the tools to raise progressive revenue… But the reality is this: As of today, those funds have not been delivered. And we cannot build our entire school budget on the hope that something might change in Springfield. Hope is not a strategy.”

— Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward), calling on the Chicago Board of Education to pass the budget proposed by CPS interim superintendent/CEO Macquline King.

[Chicago Board of Education, Aug. 28, 2025]

A budget so divisive

Chicago Public Schools has a budget for the 2025-26 academic year. Last week, the Chicago Board of Education passed the long-debated —  and delayed —  budget, voting 12-to-7 in favor of the spending plan pitched by CPS interim superintendent/CEO Macquline King. 

The nearly $10.2 billion budget does not take on any high-interest loans and does not plan for a $175 million payment to the city’s pension fund unless CPS gets extra funding from the city or state. At recent budget hearings, speakers disagreed on whether the district should borrow to balance the budget, weighing the responsibility of closing the $734 million deficit while also ensuring that students and staff have the adequate resources and services.

The budget counts on $379 million from Tax Increment Financing funds while also making $272 million in cuts, mostly  from reducing  central office expenses, custodial services, crossing guards and cafeteria staff.

While the Chicago Teachers Union criticized the budget, SEIU Local 73, the union which represents a portion of CPS support staff, rallied in favor  of it the morning of the vote.

Passing the budget also defies the wishes of Mayor Brandon Johnson and his allies, who pushed for the high-interest loan in order to avoid cutting more staff and services for students. Pedro Martinez, King’s predecessor, similarly refused to add to the district’s debt, a conflict that led to his firing last year.

Multiple public commenters mentioned the need for a change in state funding, echoing calls from earlier this year when CPS launched a campaign advocating for more evidence-based formula funding. 

Going forward, board members say they plan to continue fighting for more funding from the city and state.

What you can do:

Catch up on the headlines:

  • WBEZ/Sun-Times CPS budget deficit tracker | Sun-Times

  • Why Illinois still isn't fully funding its schools: Breaking down the 'evidence-based formula' | Chicago Sun-Times

  • Reform before the storm: a timeline of the Chicago Public Schools |Chicago Magazine

Reducing overdoses and homicides

The city’s public health department focused on reducing homicides and opioid overdoses to prevent surges over the summer.

Dr. Miao Hua, interim deputy commissioner of behavioral health, presented her department’s findings as part of the Chicago Council on Mental Health Equity quarterly meeting.

The Chicago Council on Mental Health Equity, formerly known as the Crisis Intervention Advisory Committee, is the city’s main advisory committee on mental health and behavioral issues. It is co-chaired by the Mayor’s Office and the Chicago Department of Public Health. 

The group evaluates the city's policies, training and crisis intervention methods concerning mental health and substance use issues. This includes emergency calls pertaining to mental health crises. 

CDPH’s Healthy Chicago 2025 Strategy focuses on reducing the life expectancy gap between Black and non-Black Chicagoans. Homicide and opioid overdoses are two causes of death that contribute most to that disparity.

The department implemented an incident command system in 2024 and 2025  to  identify priority reduction areas. To track performance, it looked at whether citywide and priority areas’ reduction rates were similar, and tracked the overall reduction rate, Hua said. 

From January to July, opioid overdose emergency medical responses dropped 22% citywide and decreased by 23% in the West Side compared to the same time period in 2024. 

Homicides decreased 30% between January and July (from 374 to 237), and went down from 226 to 144 in priority areas, compared to the same period in 2023, Hua said.

The next meeting will be on Nov. 10.

What you can do:

Attend the next CCMHE meeting: Attend the last CCMHE meeting of 2025 at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10, City Hall, 121 LaSalle St. See more details here.

A version of this story was first published in the September 3, 2025 issue of the Newswire, an email newsletter that is your weekly guide to Chicago government, civic action and what we can do to make our city great. You can sign up for the weekly newsletter here.

Have thoughts on what you'd like to see in this feature? Email Civic Editor Dawn Rhodes at dawn@citybureau.org.