By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal directs more than $60 million in combined funding toward Chicago Public Libraries and homelessness prevention programs, marking a significant investment in two areas that advocates have long targeted for expanded support.
The “Fair Share Budget,” introduced Tuesday to the City Council, includes a $30.9 million subsidy for the Chicago Public Library system and $30 million in increased funding for homelessness prevention and support services, according to a news release from the mayor’s office.
The library subsidy is intended to support enhanced programming while avoiding service cuts or a property tax levy increase, the release said. The homelessness funding is framed as a response to federal cuts to services that help keep Chicagoans housed.
Within the homelessness allocation, the budget directs $15 million to the Department of Family and Support Services Homelessness Services budget, $13 million to the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund and $2 million to the Flexible Housing Pool. The investments are projected to prevent 3,000 Chicagoans from losing their homes, according to the release.
The budget also opens an additional city-run mental health clinic in a community that previously lost one. It expands the Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement program, known as CARE, to operate seven days a week.
Homelessness advocacy groups in Chicago have been urging increased city investment for months. The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless reported in early October that advocates and alderpersons demanded the city budget include funding to keep 3,000 Chicagoans housed, citing the risk of federal cuts to permanent housing programs.
Data from the city show the number of unhoused Chicagoans dropped 12 percent in 2026, though the total remains near an all-time high, according to a September report covered by WTTW Chicago.
The budget proposal also retains a $3 million Legal Protection Fund for free immigration legal services and community education. An additional $2.5 million funds the Community Justice Initiative, providing free legal education workshops for communities affected by violence and incarceration.
For families, the proposal invests $7 million to sustain pay raises for more than 3,000 early childhood professionals and sets a record for summer youth employment by funding 40,000 paid positions through Chicago Youth Works at a cost of $24 million.
The library and homelessness funding would be supported by new revenue measures targeting corporations, including an Equitable Employer Tax projected to raise $101.8 million and increases to the Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax, Sports Wagering Tax and Social Media Amusement & Responsibility Tax.
The budget now goes before the City Council for review.
Source: City of Chicago Mayor’s Press Room
