Illinois quick hits: Chicago school board raises property tax levy

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

Chicago school board raises property tax levy

By a vote of 15 to 5, the Chicago Board of Education raised its property tax levy for fiscal year 2026 to generate an additional $25 million to $30 million in revenue.

Chicago Public Schools Acting Chief Financial Officer Wally Stock said the levy increase from 3.8% to 4.78% would be reduced by county calculations. Monday’s vote came just over a week after the Chicago City Council passed a $16.7 billion budget that sweeps roughly $1 billion in tax-increment financing dollars to CPS.

The Chicago Board of Education’s Office of Inspector General recently found that “severely deficient” travel expense procedures resulted in CPS spending roughly $23.6 million in overnight travel-related expenditures from 2019 to 2024.

State taxpayers dollars going to Planned Parenthood

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) says it is investing $4 million to pay for Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid “family planning” programming.

According to HFS, the funding will go toward services like contraception, sexually-transmitted infection testing and treatment, and cancer screenings in order to counteract the federal defunding of Planned Parenthood.

According to HFS, abortions are not paid for with federal dollars but are covered on state Medicaid plans with state funds.

State Fair goes digital

The Illinois State Fair is transitioning to digital ticketing for 2026. After a trial run in 2025, fair officials say the modernized process will provide guests with more convenient, secure, and streamlined entry. The 2026 Illinois State Fair is scheduled from August 13 through August 23 in Springfield.