tell us a little bit about when these
property tax collections are due to
arrive and how these tax anticipation
notes that the city might need to issue,
the school district might need to issue
would work.
So, property taxes are the largest
source of revenue for the Chicago public
schools and they usually come in sort of
two big batches um in the beginning of
the year around March and then again in
August. Now, the payments were actually
due August 1st, but the bills haven't
actually gone out yet to residents
because there's been a computer glitch.
What that means is that this very key
amount of cash uh that the district
counts on may not come for weeks or
potentially even months. The district
treasurer actually told the school board
last week that they may not come until
about October.
May not come till October. So what does
this mean given that the school year is
about to start and the school district
needs to spend money? I mean they'll
have to cut costs, won't they?
So they're in negotiations right now.
the school district and has presented a
proposal for their budget for fiscal
2026. Now, the budget, the year actually
started on uh July 1st, but the budget
hasn't been approved yet. The school
board's going to vote on that or is
expected to vote on that on August 28th.
Now, we don't know exactly how they're
going to close a $734 million budget
deficit. The tax anticipation notes
actually act as a bridge until they get
that cash flow going. And over the last
few years, those short-term borrowings
have been increasing for the district
because of cash flow pressures.