On Wednesday, October 30, Mayor Brandon Johnson released the City of Chicago’s $17.3 billion budget recommendations for 2025. This is a tough year for the Chicago budget, with the City facing a nearly $1 billion deficit. To close the budget gap, Mayor Johnson proposed the second largest property tax hike in Chicago history, about $300 million.
Budgetary pressures will impact all Chicagoans, including the creative sector that is already facing financial challenges in the city.
The numbers released in last week’s proposed budget don’t tell a complete story, and there are still some unknowns. That said, Arts Alliance is cautiously optimistic that DCASE can maintain its grantmaking levels in 2025. Approximately $8.5 million in grants from DCASE in FY24 came from Chicago’s Special Events and Municipal Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Fund revenue. The proposed FY25 $12.6 million allocation to DCASE’s Cultural Grants and Resources department should be able to cover that same level of grantmaking this year. What makes things challenging to parse is that we can’t see exactly where federal relief (ARPA) dollars show up in the detailed budget lines. These one-time funds were infused throughout last year’s budget and have taken a significant dip in this year’s proposed numbers.
Our analysis below focuses specifically on the Mayor’s proposed Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) budget. Arts Alliance acknowledges that decisions made across every city department will impact Chicago’s creative workers and cultural organizations. No matter what the final version of this budget looks like when passed in December, the Alliance is committed to continuing our fight for the public investment in the arts that our city needs and deserves.
Key Takeaways
- The Mayor proposed allocating $72,961,225 million for DCASE in 2025, a 14.02% decrease from the 2024 budget ($84.86 million).
- The DCASE allocation from the Special Events and Municipal Hotel Operators fund increased by 11.3%, from $39.7 million to $44.2 million.
- The FY2025 budget includes $13.6 million from the American Rescue Plan Fiscal Recovery carryover.
| DCASE Budget Sources | Proposed for FY25 | Proposed in FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Special Events and Municipal Hotel Operators’ Occupation Tax Fund | $44,292,225 | $39,784,716 |
| Other Grant Funds | $28,669,000 | $45,079,677 |
| Proposed Budget Breakdown | Proposed for FY25 | Proposed in FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Administration | $23,876,805 | $20,884,137 |
| Special Events | $3,500,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Operations | $13,733,091 | $12,866,712 |
| Programming | $8,353,664 | $9,355,832 |
| Cultural Grants and Resources | $12,612,120 | $37,527,367 |
| Marketing & Development | $9,613,980 | $1,749,307 |
| Chicago Film Office | $974,766 | $940,558 |
Next Steps
To continue showing the value of direct grant dollars to artists and arts organizations, Arts Alliance will keep sharing stories on social media about the impact of DCASE grants. Please fill out this form to add your own.
We encourage you to learn more about the budget in its entirety. Our friends at the Better Government Association are releasing snapshots that break down the Mayor’s proposed budget by department.
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