Chicago School Board Ups Property Taxes to Capture $25M Now, More Later

On Monday, the Chicago Board of Education voted to raise its property tax levy to the legal limit, a slight increase from the raise it incorporated into the budget it passed in August. This adds an additional $8 in property taxes on a home worth $250,000, or $16 on a home worth $500,000. 

Due to the problems with Cook County’s new technology system, the school board didn’t know the exact amount of Chicago’s total property assessment value for 2024 when it passed its budget in August. During Monday’s board meeting, Acting Chief Financial Officer Wally Stock explained that the district’s estimate of increased property tax assessment was lower than the actual growth, which wouldn’t have been captured without increasing the levy. 

Raising the property tax levy to the legal limit will allow CPS to bring in between $20 and $25 million in additional revenue for FY 2026. But the decision to raise property taxes by a small amount now makes a bigger difference in future years. Missing out on taxing the increased assessment would have cost CPS hundreds of millions of dollars in future revenue, because tax increases compound over time.

The levy vote was originally scheduled for the regular December board meeting, but board president Sean Harden pulled the item, according to Fox32. The special board meeting, held during winter break, “felt weird,” said member Ellen Rosenfeld. “Why didn’t we just vote on it during the board meeting?”

Four of the five board members who voted against the tax increase–all electeds–held true to their pledges as candidates not to follow more than a decade of precedent in which the school board always raised property taxes to the legal limit. A fifth elected member, Ellen Rosenfeld, changed her position from candidate, where she supported the increase, to sitting board member, where she opposed it.

Many CTU-backed electeds, and mayoral appointees who ran with CTU backing, said in their  Sun-Times candidate questionnaires (note: paywalled)  that they opposed raising the levy to the max, as Chicago school boards have routinely done for decades. They all supported fully funding the state’s education formula for schools and creating new progressive taxes targeting the wealthy to pay more. But since they took office, neither of those things has happened.

Here’s how board members voted, with their positions as candidates for all board members who ran in 2024. In the chart below, N/A indicates they did not run, so did not answer the questionnaire.

When asked, Ellen Rosenfeld was glad to explain why she changed her mind. “I really, really debated this one,” she said. Ultimately, she voted against the increase because, over the last year, she has concluded that Chicago Public Schools needs greater financial accountability. 

“It’s been a year since I’ve been on the board. I had been in CPS for a long time, but I didn’t know it at this level,” she said. “I’ve gained a much deeper understanding of what’s going on inside of CPS. We have serious problems with transparency and operational discipline. Without fixing those things, [more money] is not going to help us. We’re just throwing resources at a problem that really requires other things.”

As a candidate, Yesenia Lopez did not commit herself to a position on the levy when asked about it, saying only that she wanted to work with “budget and financial experts and community stakeholders” to balance the needs of students with the “economic realities of our communities.”

During the board’s discussion with Stock before the vote, Lopez referenced the Trump administration’s recent decision to end a federal grant for afterschool programs (which is being challenged in court) said, “Because the Trump administration keeps coming after our communities, now it’s adding pressure for the local governments to step up.” 

For more on the levy vote, check out these local media pieces:

• Paris Schutz at Fox32 has the dish on behind-the-scenes board drama.
• Emmanuel Carrillo at WBEZ broke down where the money will go and put the tax increase in the context of Cook County’s recent reassessments, which have caused tax spikes. 
• Kate Armanini at the Chicago Tribune noted the long-term financial consequences for CPS if the levy hadn’t been raised.
• ABC7 picked up more quotes from board members during the pre-vote discussion.

For Stock's presentation slides to the board yesterday, click here.