The battle for proper funding of Chicago’s most important services isn’t over yet. Last week, Tessa Parker discussed the last-minute save of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), narrowly avoiding massive cuts to its services. As of the time of writing, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) faces a threat of nearly the same proportions, again due to a change in federal revenue allocation.
CPS, much like the greater city of Chicago, has been the target of President Trump’s anti-DEI crusade. Just at the beginning of this year, the Trump administration withdrew millions in funds from CPS by withholding the multi-million dollar magnet school fund that CPS has historically been awarded annually because of CPS’s “Black Student Success Plan”, according to CBS News. This, and a general mismatch in funding and budget, threatens dozens, if not hundreds, of CPS positions in potentially devastating mid-year cuts.
To meet the budget, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is proposing a half a billion Tax Increment Financing (TIF) surplus allocation to the schools. TIF taxes are taxes generated through high property value growth, and go back into funding areas of a district that are “blighting”, according to the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development. Ordinarily, this has gone towards repairing roads, cleaning land, and repurposing vacant property, but Johnson has given new life to the TIF tax, using it to fund other critical structures of the state.
As of the time of writing, the budget has yet to be voted on. However, for those who may be in favor of the budget proposal, the Chicago Teacher Union (CTU), the union representing all CPS teachers and many professionals working for CPS, has created a link to identify and send a template email to the alderperson representing your district, which can be found at https://www.ctulocal1.org/posts/alder-letters-budget-2025/ (QR code below). For those still unsure, I would recommend additional reading on the issue. The CTU regularly posts regarding just about any issue facing any school in Chicago, including this one. Local organizations such as the CTU are a great way to gain a pulse on the city as a whole, and can help anyone, even international students, get a foot in the door for understanding our city better.
