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Preckwinkle unveiled a $9.69 billion spending plan on Thursday,
down from $10.12 billion in 2026.
“We’re not asking taxpayers to solve a problem that we haven’t
tried to fix ourselves first,” the board president said during
her budget address to county commissioners.
Preckwinkle blamed the Trump administration for federal cuts and
said a projected budget gap of $550.7 million was addressed
through vacancy management, spending cuts, investment gains, and
$18 million in reserve funds.
A statement from the board president’s office said the spending
cuts amounted to $35 million and the stricter approach to
vacancies netted $46 million.
During her speech, Preckwinkle twice hinted at future tax hikes.
“In the years ahead, we will need to consider additional revenue
to preserve the health care safety net, public safety and other
essential services our residents depend on,” Preckwinkle said.
Michael Murphy, the Libertarian candidate for Cook County board
president on the November ballot, said it’s untrue for
Preckwinkle to credit budget discipline.
“She has taken money from the federal government, money that we
know that was never going to last forever, and just pretended it
was going to last forever. And now we're in this budget crisis,”
Murphy told The Center Square.
Murphy said Cook County needs a long-term plan to stop losing
population.
“Otherwise, yes, everybody in the municipalities are going to
see their property taxes increase and continue to increase
because of the loss of residents that Cook County is facing,”
Murphy said.
Murphy said he would keep the budget flat and not increase
property taxes.
Cook County’s interactive budget website is available online.
County officials have scheduled virtual budget briefings on Oct.
13 and Oct. 19. The county board finance committee’s public
hearings are set for Oct. 15.
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