Politics
Chicago Police Department Overspent Its 2025 Budget by $162.5M: City Analysis
(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
The Chicago Police Department spent more than its City Council-approved budget in 2025, costing Chicago taxpayers more than $162.5 million in unanticipated expenses, records show.
CPD has overspent its budget five years in a row, according to Chicago’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports from 2021 to 2025.
In all, CPD spent $1.98 billion in 2025, according to the city’s annual financial report. The department’s budget was $1.82 billion, records show.
Nearly three-quarters of the overspending, or $120.3 million, was attributed to the department’s personnel budget, even though CPD has more than 1,000 vacant positions, records show.
In all, CPD spent $285.8 million to pay officers to work extra hours in 2025, $185.8 million more than it had budgeted, according to a database maintained by the Office of the Inspector General.
In addition, CPD overspent its budget to defend and resolve police misconduct lawsuits by $48.5 million, according to the city’s annual financial report. Even though the City Council set aside $82.5 million to defend and resolve lawsuits against the police department, CPD spent a total of $131 million, according to the report.
Representatives of CPD and the mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment from WTTW News.
CPD overspent its 2024 budget by $207 million, records show.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said in July 2025 that was “not acceptable” and vowed to rein in police spending.
Since 2021, CPD has overspent its annual budgets by a combined $600 million, records show.
CPD’s budget accounts for one-third of the city’s $6 billion corporate fund, which the City Council has wide discretion to spend.
Between 2021, when CPD spent $1.62 billion, and 2025, when CPD spent $1.98 billion, police spending grew 22%, records show.
Chicago’s 2026 budget set a $200 million budget for police overtime, an increase from the $100 million set aside in the city’s 2025 budget, records show. Through June 30, CPD had already spent $133 million, according to the inspector general’s database.
However, the city’s 2026 budget once against set aside just $82.5 million to cover the cost of defending and resolving police misconduct lawsuits.
Just six months into 2026, Chicago has spent more than $225 million to resolve more than 200 lawsuits alleging Chicago police officers committed a wide range of misconduct, according to a WTTW News analysis.
WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
