Chicago Schools Chief Resists Johnson Loan Push Amid $734 Million Budget Gap

Chicago Public Schools is confronting a $734 million shortfall for the academic year that begins Aug. 18, a gap exacerbated by the expiration of federal pandemic aid, rising special-education and transportation costs, and legacy debt obligations. Interim Chief Executive Officer Macquline King, appointed in June, briefed aldermen and state lawmakers on Tuesday on options to close the deficit ahead of a formal budget presentation to the Board of Education on Wednesday. Mayor Brandon Johnson has urged the district to borrow and to assume a $175 million municipal pension payment that City Hall normally covers. King is resisting additional borrowing, saying all remedies—including spending cuts, refinancing, and lobbying Springfield for more aid—remain on the table. Johnson, who opposes service cuts, warned that without a loan the district faces a stark choice to “cut or invest.” King appeared alongside the Chicago Teachers Union, SEIU and the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association in a rare display of unity. CTU President Stacy Davis Gates argued that state leaders should “pay what they owe,” citing calculations showing CPS needs almost $1.6 billion more annually to meet adequacy targets under Illinois’ evidence-based funding formula. The draft budget requires majority approval from the partially elected, partially appointed school board by Aug. 28, just days after the school year begins. Failure to act could force last-minute spending cuts or jeopardize expected tax-increment financing surpluses that account for roughly $300 million of CPS revenue.