Education
Mayor Johnson Continues Push for State Funding as Chicago Public Schools Students Head Back to Class Monday
(WTTW News)
Hundreds of thousands of Chicago Public Schools students returned to their classrooms across the city Monday on the first day of school for the 2026-27 academic year as local officials continue pushing for more state funding to help prevent staffing layoffs.
Following a contentious budget battle, Mayor Brandon Johnson joined CPS CEO Macquline King and Chicago Teachers Union officials to welcome back students at George Leland Elementary on the city’s West Side.
In doing so, Johnson again called on state legislators to step up to help fully fund the cash-strapped school district.
“We’re also going into a season where we have to demand more from those who have the ability to give more to actually do more,” he said, adding that throughout his tenure as mayor, he’s released more than $1 billion in Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) dollars into CPS. “I’ve done my part, the state of Illinois has to do theirs.”
The new academic year will be a critical one for CPS, with its Board of Education fully transforming into an elected body in January and an upcoming mayoral election in February.
CPS is counting on another $285 million in TIF funding under its newly finalized budget, along with $150 million in additional not-yet-approved state funding.
That came as part of a marathon meeting by the Board of Education last month in which CTU-backed members successfully pushed for an amendment to add in the extra state funding in hopes it would allow the district to stave off layoffs in the proposed budget King and district officials had pushed for.
During that meeting, district budget officials, some board members, and CPS’ top attorney underscored the legal obligation under the school code and state law to pass a budget that makes reasonable assumptions about revenue, with board member Ellen Rosenfeld questioning whether the board could be in violation of its fiduciary duty by making an assumption about an additional $150 million in revenue from the state.
And if that state funding fails to materialize, CPS has said it will likely need to enact mid-year cuts and layoffs.
Johnson said he’s had conversations with Illinois Senate President Don Harmon and Speaker of the House Emanuel “Chris” Welch, and said he intends to speak with Gov. JB Pritzker in the coming days.
He believes their “hearts are in the right place” and that there’s “agreements” on making sure that funding comes through.
“Now we just have to put those agreements into action,” he said. “Our children are worth it.”
WTTW News' Nick Blumberg contributed to this report.
