The Cook County Board voted unanimously Thursday to approve Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s $10.1 billion budget for next year, a spending plan without a deficit or layoffs, new taxes, fees or fines.
The budget was also widely popular among commissioners for funneling cash toward health care, public safety and legal representation. Passing the budget was also a counter to President Donald Trump and his policies, including cuts to health care and the deportation campaign that has left the Chicago area reeling, Preckwinkle said.
“The Trump administration is threatening our communities and targeting the very investments that keep families stable and safe,” Preckwinkle said. “As federal funding becomes more unpredictable, governments are forced to make tough choices to protect essential services, maintain physical stability and preserve strong bond ratings.”
But much of the county’s financial future remains in flux as the federal government’s threats to cut funding to health care and infrastructure grants continue.
Around three quarters of the finalized budget, which varies slightly from the initially proposed version, is allocated toward public safety and health care. Earlier this year, it was projected the county would face a $211 million deficit, which the county was able to close through sales taxes and other revenue sources.
The amendments to the proposed budget put money toward homelessness prevention, rental assistance, technical amendments and food access.
The budget includes around $5.14 billion toward health care, following a typical trend of roughly half the county’s budget allocated toward health care each year. Much of that will fund Cook County’s Medicaid insurance, CountyCare, which serves over 400,000 residents.
The budget includes a 10% reduction in expenses to account for potential impacts of federal cuts to Medicaid.
Preckwinkle’s budget includes a federal grant risk mitigation fund to account for potential eliminations or cuts to grants. The fund will help cover any expenses that would have been paid for through grants, according to the county’s chief financial officer, Tanya Anthony.
Preckwinkle and Cook County commissioners characterized the budget as a way to push back against the Trump administration’s policies, not only in the arena of grant funding but regarding social and class issues as well.
“At a time when the federal government’s chief strategy seems to be one of cruelty and unfeeling undertakings that hurt ordinary people more than anybody else, and a government for the rich and powerful, we stand for the poor, the marginalized and yes, the undocumented, and we’re going to continue to do that,” 14th District Commissioner Scott Britton said.
As the Chicago area grapples with the aftershocks of the federal immigration sweep, the budget also includes the expansion of the public defenders’ immigration unit, making it the top source of legal representation for people detained by immigration agents, Preckwinkle said. The goal was “ensuring due process at the moment when federal policies grow more outrageous, by the day,” she said.
Preckwinkle credited the 2015 passage of a 1% sales tax increase for the county’s balanced budget this year, saying it was a hard decision at the time but that hike allowed the county to fund its pension program and keep its financial health afloat 10 years later.
“They took that tough vote and put us in the financial position that we’re in today, which is stability,” Preckwinkle said. “And it’s because we’re in such a good place that we are able to have this budget without any new taxes, funds or fees.”
The budget also includes a $3 million allocation toward a generative AI pilot project geared toward improving efficiency.
Millions of dollars are also set aside for the construction of modular homes, installing more solar panels at county buildings and expanding mental health and gastrointestinal care at Cook County Health.
The county is planning to head into 2026 with staff vacancies, as its employment has stayed the same for the last 10 years. As of August, more than 3,000 positions were vacant in the county, about half of which were Cook County Health positions.
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