Pensions & debt
One in four dollars pays for the past
Of the $27.7B the three governments budget for 2026, $6.82 billion goes into pension funds and to paying back loans.
Read how this is grouped →Three separate 2026 budgets · City of Chicago · Chicago Public Schools · Chicago Park District
Where Chicago’s $27.7 billion goes
Every circle is a program, sized by its budget. Change the view to sort the same money by government, by purpose, or by how much of it pays for the past.
| Program | Government | Purpose | 2026 budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Police Department | City | Police, fire & 911 | $2,109,111,600.00 |
| Transportation | City | Streets, water, trash & airports | $1,837,472,803.00 |
| Aviation | City | Streets, water, trash & airports | $1,663,878,529.00 |
| Municipal Employees' retirement fund | City | Pensions | $1,126,220,447.00 |
| Policemen's retirement fund | City | Pensions | $1,112,522,924.00 |
| School loan payments | Schools | Paying back loans | $1,063,342,455.26 |
| Other citywide costs | City | Running the governments | $1,008,734,181.00 |
| Charter and contract schools | Schools | Schools | $984,618,330.99 |
| Pensions and Medicare tax | Schools | Pensions | $925,825,810.75 |
| Chicago Fire Department | City | Police, fire & 911 | $901,671,972.00 |
| Employee health care and benefits | City | Employee health care | $817,275,272.00 |
| Chicago O'Hare Airport Fund | City | Paying back loans | $802,470,160.00 |
| Water Management | City | Streets, water, trash & airports | $758,528,547.00 |
| Family and Support Services | City | Health, families & libraries | $637,780,868.00 |
| Keeping school buildings clean and running | Schools | Schools | $509,760,129.60 |
| Fleet and Facility Management | City | Running the governments | $503,454,074.00 |
| Firemen's retirement fund | City | Pensions | $453,329,665.00 |
| Bond Redemption and Interest Series Fund | City | Paying back loans | $417,519,137.00 |
| Network 14 schools | Schools | Schools | $385,820,023.09 |
| Independent schools network | Schools | Schools | $383,939,436.32 |
| Special education services | Schools | Schools | $379,074,811.52 |
| Streets and Sanitation | City | Streets, water, trash & airports | $349,690,761.00 |
| Facility Needs | Schools | Schools | $340,746,126.00 |
| Public Health | City | Health, families & libraries | $334,967,160.00 |
| Network 1 schools | Schools | Schools | $332,685,812.35 |
| Network 15 schools | Schools | Schools | $305,092,716.91 |
| Network 10 schools | Schools | Schools | $283,590,817.09 |
| Network 4 schools | Schools | Schools | $274,779,957.61 |
| Water Fund | City | Paying back loans | $233,305,942.00 |
| Network 8 schools | Schools | Schools | $220,776,617.85 |
| Network 3 schools | Schools | Schools | $211,302,493.75 |
| Network 16 schools | Schools | Schools | $211,238,504.82 |
| Network 13 schools | Schools | Schools | $210,384,776.75 |
| Getting kids to school (buses) | Schools | Schools | $204,167,229.74 |
| Network 2 schools | Schools | Schools | $203,519,228.98 |
| Student health, counseling and college and career programs | Schools | Schools | $194,013,953.92 |
| Network 12 schools | Schools | Schools | $192,506,694.82 |
| Grants, set-asides and savings targets | Schools | Schools | $187,270,808.38 |
| Network 6 schools | Schools | Schools | $183,189,237.91 |
| Network 11 schools | Schools | Schools | $179,286,252.49 |
| Education offices (teaching, learning, networks) | Schools | Running the governments | $178,489,989.35 |
| Housing | City | Parks, culture & housing | $173,228,026.00 |
| Network 17 schools | Schools | Schools | $172,716,717.53 |
| Network 9 schools | Schools | Schools | $172,427,895.57 |
| Network 7 schools | Schools | Schools | $168,472,243.89 |
| Network 5 schools | Schools | Schools | $167,745,817.90 |
| Health insurance | Schools | Employee health care | $166,825,702.40 |
| Sewer Fund | City | Paying back loans | $158,486,480.00 |
| Laborers' and Retirement Board retirement fund | City | Pensions | $151,148,378.00 |
| Planning and Development | City | Parks, culture & housing | $146,212,815.00 |
| Chicago Midway Airport Fund | City | Paying back loans | $144,703,416.00 |
| Office of Public Safety Administration | City | Police, fire & 911 | $135,611,676.00 |
| Finance | City | Running the governments | $127,748,882.00 |
| School meals | Schools | Schools | $127,088,459.58 |
| Maintaining the parks | Parks | Parks, culture & housing | $122,680,109.00 |
| IT, Security and Other Projects | Schools | Schools | $118,515,321.00 |
| Chicago Public Library | City | Health, families & libraries | $115,996,346.00 |
| Preschool and early learning | Schools | Schools | $109,110,542.00 |
| Operations offices (technology, buying, families) | Schools | Running the governments | $107,768,326.37 |
| Office of Emergency Management and Communications | City | Police, fire & 911 | $99,891,120.00 |
| For Payment of Bonds | City | Paying back loans | $90,493,270.00 |
| Soldier Field, harbors, golf and other managed venues | Parks | Parks, culture & housing | $79,556,554.00 |
| Technology and Innovation | City | Running the governments | $76,383,040.00 |
| Park District loans | Parks | Paying back loans | $70,556,546.00 |
| Park District pensions | Parks | Pensions | $69,332,412.00 |
| Hiring and people offices | Schools | Running the governments | $62,601,956.91 |
| Cultural Affairs and Special Events | City | Parks, culture & housing | $61,812,597.00 |
| Running the District | Parks | Running the governments | $57,424,109.00 |
| School safety and security | Schools | Schools | $56,747,802.19 |
| Environment | City | Running the governments | $52,428,895.00 |
| Law | City | Running the governments | $47,938,387.00 |
| Finance offices | Schools | Running the governments | $45,163,383.10 |
| Language programs, sports and stadiums | Schools | Schools | $44,524,564.44 |
| Utilities, benefits and other shared costs | Parks | Running the governments | $43,752,792.00 |
| Buildings | City | Running the governments | $39,358,146.00 |
| Board, leadership and legal offices | Schools | Running the governments | $38,904,475.98 |
| Office of Budget and Management | City | Running the governments | $38,552,702.00 |
| Central Region (68 parks) | Parks | Parks, culture & housing | $37,889,029.00 |
| City Council | City | Running the governments | $37,764,468.00 |
| South Region (81 parks) | Parks | Parks, culture & housing | $37,470,824.00 |
| North Region (81 parks) | Parks | Parks, culture & housing | $36,765,035.00 |
| Museums and the zoo | Parks | Parks, culture & housing | $36,369,287.00 |
| Business Affairs and Consumer Protection | City | Running the governments | $36,348,162.00 |
| Districtwide recreation programs | Parks | Parks, culture & housing | $31,980,512.00 |
| Options network (alternative schools) | Schools | Schools | $31,388,146.70 |
| Educational Programming | Schools | Schools | $28,680,000.00 |
| Facility Site Improvements | Schools | Schools | $28,300,000.00 |
| Board of Election Commissioners | City | Running the governments | $27,867,404.00 |
| Capital Project Support Services | Schools | Schools | $23,000,000.00 |
| Building Interior | Schools | Schools | $16,700,000.00 |
| Office of the Mayor | City | Running the governments | $16,419,712.00 |
| Civilian Office of Police Accountability | City | Police, fire & 911 | $15,771,027.00 |
| Office of City Clerk | City | Running the governments | $15,204,652.00 |
| Other running the city government | City | Running the governments | $14,861,625.00 |
| Salaries and payouts in this office | Schools | Running the governments | $14,850,217.91 |
| Office of Inspector General | City | Running the governments | $14,295,022.00 |
| Procurement Services | City | Running the governments | $13,898,365.00 |
| Human Resources | City | Running the governments | $12,943,553.00 |
| Other health, families and libraries | City | Health, families & libraries | $12,434,359.00 |
| Other Park District costs | Parks | Parks, culture & housing | $11,403,141.00 |
| Planning and enrollment offices | Schools | Running the governments | $11,168,170.55 |
| Other inspections and rules | City | Running the governments | $9,306,973.00 |
| Other keeping people safe | City | Police, fire & 911 | $4,497,965.00 |
Browse the three official budgets
- City of Chicago: $16,842,553,003.00 (Calendar year 2026)
- Chicago Public Schools: $10,253,327,463.68 (School year July 2025 to June 2026)
- Chicago Park District: $637,580,350.00 (Calendar year 2026)
These are separate governments. City and Parks use calendar year 2026; CPS uses July 2025 through June 2026. The combined figure above is for scale only, not an official consolidated budget. How to compare them.
That is $879 for every second of the year and $10,191 for every Chicagoan, written down in 47,360 budget boxes that each add up to the cent.
The three budgets belong to separate governments with different budget years, and are added together here only for scale. Budgets are plans, not money already spent. How to read them.
Notable numbers
Six numbers worth knowing
Each one opens the explorer at the box it comes from, so you can check it yourself.
City pension funds
25 to 44 cents saved for every dollar promised
The City’s four funds are $36.6 billion short. Funded ratios are from actuarial valuations, not annual budget spending.
Open the pension funds →Police
$2.11 billion, one in eight City dollars
$212M is budgeted for overtime, not overtime already paid.
Open the Police Department →Schools
$32,424 per CPS student
With every cost in, from buses to pensions. Inside a school’s own budget the median is $18,280 per student.
See the schools →Checks written
The City’s biggest payees this year
Payments made Jan 1 to Sep 28, 2026, partial year. Payments to individuals are pooled and not shown. These are actual checks, not the budget.
Explore City spending →Counted twice
$1.71 billion moves between City funds
The ordinance’s gross $18.7 billion counts internal transfers twice. This site uses the net $16.8 billion; the adjustment is explained in the methods.
How net is calculated →Explore
Open any box. Keep going until it won’t open.
Each bar is one level of the budget. The colored piece is where you are, and its length is its share of the level above. Below them, every box inside the one you opened.
Keys: arrows move between boxes, Enter opens, Backspace goes up, / searches.