All Week Long
Originally published by Kristen Schorsch via Chicago Sun-Times | October 10, 2025
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is pitching a good news budget for next year: no layoffs, new taxes or tax hikes.
Her proposed $9.89 billion spending plan includes investments in generative artificial intelligence to help county workers do their jobs more efficiently — not to replace them — along with replenishing a fund to help communities helping migrants or hit hard by flooding, and putting solar panels on county facilities to ultimately lower energy costs and save the county money.
And there’s a big goal: essentially having contracts in place by Dec. 31 to spend all of the $1 billion in federal pandemic relief dollars the county has received. So far, the county has committed 84% of the money. Preckwinkle and her finance team vow to hit the deadline.
Tanya Anthony, the county’s chief financial officer, said county leaders are proud of the government’s fiscal might: strong credit ratings, healthy reserves, stable pensions.
“We’re doing all of this without the need to raise taxes,” Anthony said during a briefing with reporters on Wednesday. “We’re in good shape for good reason.”
More FY2026 Budget News Highlights:
Chicago Tribune: "Unlike the city, the county has built up its rainy day funds and received boosts from rating agencies that lower its borrowing costs. Now, Preckwinkle is proposing tapping those reserves to help weather this year's minor budgetary storm and prepare for the future. Read More
WTTW: "Cook County will not need to hike property taxes or impose new fees to close a projected budget gap of $211.4 million." Read More
Chicago Sun-Times: "Preckwinkle pledged to "stand up" and 'speak out" as the Trump administration continues to target the county." Read More
Originally published by Kade Heather via Chicago Sun-Times | October 9, 2025
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is urging Chief Judge Timothy Evans to ban civil arrests in and around courthouses and county buildings in response to a recent surge in immigration arrests across the area.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have been increasingly present at Cook County courthouses under President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign this year, especially since his administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” began in September targeting the Chicago area.
Preckwinkle has signed on with the Cook County Public Defender’s office and a coalition of legal aid groups in a petition asking Evans to prohibit federal law enforcement officers from making civil arrests at county courthouses without a judicial warrant.
“Deterring people from participating in the justice system undermines the courts’ ability to administer justice and keep communities safe,” Preckwinkle said in a statement. “We must do everything in our power to ensure our courts stand as institutions of justice where all residents can expect fair and just treatment that respects their rights.”
Written by Toni Preckwinkle and Bridget Gainer, Originally Published by Chicago Tribune | October 9, 2025
One year ago in these pages, we released research that homeowners in Cook County were experiencing the greatest volatility in property taxes — both in rates of increase and higher tax bills — that had ever been seen. This is likely not news to many, but it was a significant development for our local economy.
Unexpected increases in property taxes don’t just create financial stress for households. If taxes are escrowed in a mortgage, they threaten the ability to pay the mortgage and thus put homeownership at risk.
In this moment, preserving homeownership is especially critical.
We have met with homeowners across Cook County in recent years to assist with property taxes and have heard firsthand the need for a lifeline. Property taxes are rising faster than homeowners’ ability to pay, forcing people to leave the very neighborhoods they love and have called home — and undermining their best opportunity to build generational wealth.
Homeownership also benefits the stability of communities by expanding the property tax base. And the tax base in Cook County is a perfect example of “growing the pie”: the more taxpayers that contribute, the lower the bills for everyone.
In direct response to what we’ve heard from constituents, Commissioner Bridget Gainer’s office commissioned a study from the University of Chicago’s Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation to help define and quantify the problem. The results were stark: Seniors and working- and middle-class households are most affected by volatile property taxes, and the impacts are accelerating gentrification and driving vacancy and abandonment.
In response, Cook County launched the Homeowner Relief Fund last week to assist homeowners whose property taxes spiked 50% or more in any of the last three years and whose family is at or below the area median income. That means a family of four making $120,000 will qualify for relief.
Paid for by Preckwinkle for President. A copy of our report filed with the State Board of Elections is (or will be) available on the Board's official website, http://elections.il.gov/, or for purchase from the State Board of Elections, Springfield, Illinois. All contributions are reported to the State Board of Elections. Contributions are not accepted from employees of Cook County. Companies holding contracts with the Cook County are limited to $750.
Political contributions are not deductible for income tax purposes.