Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle won swift approval of her $10. 12 billion 2026 budget on Thursday, calling its passage a protection against President Donald Trump’s cuts. Preckwinkle made special note of the fact there is money in the budget to expand county Public Defender Sharone Mitchell’s immigration unit, which will get seven more positions next year, bringing it to 15. By adding more lawyers, county officials expect to be able to represent more clients who are in the midst of the immigration process or facing criminal prosecution and deportation. The unit, Mitchell said Wednesday, has so far represented 190 clients. Like the last several years, the 2026 budget does not include any layoffs or new taxes, fines or fees. The county has not raised its base property tax levy in nearly three decades. Avoiding those unpopular moves is a political boost for Preckwinkle and board members who are facing primary elections in March. The budget remains largely unchanged from Preckwinkle’s initial proposal in October. Commissioners will give themselves pay raises, to $102, 170 per year from $99,194, the latest such increases tied to inflation that they voted to enact starting in 2022. Finance Chairman John Daley’s salary goes up from about $105, 000 to $108, 198. Recent tweaks include roughly two dozen new positions at State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke’s office and new mental health and domestic violence programs. And thanks to the city’s planned record surplus of special taxing district funding, there will be nearly $20 million in new spending on homelessness, food benefits, and help for renters. Its easy passage and the “collegiality” board members celebrated stood in stark contrast to the budget struggles swirling on the other side of the City-County building, which several commissioners alluded to after quickly approving a series of amendments in the Finance Committee. Even Sean Morrison, the board’s lone Republican, supported the budget, estimating the county was in the “best fiscal position” in the state thanks to difficult pension fixes funded by a sales tax hike approved in 2015, the decision to refinance hundreds of millions in debt, and a flood of federal dollars hitting Cook County Health. The county has received a ratings upgrade every year for the last four years. But many expect the following budget to be more difficult. The 2026 spending plan will tap reserves to weather what county officials think will be stormy conditions in 2027 and beyond. Health officials predict state and federal changes could result in an estimated $400 million “negative impact” on Cook County Health. Reductions in federal Affordable Care Act tax credits could lead to more uninsured patients with limited ability to pay their bills coming to county facilities for care. New Medicaid work requirements that kick in starting in 2027 could lead to an estimated 10% of current enrollees losing coverage. Eligibility checks for Medicaid patients will also happen twice a year instead of annually, which could lead to another 5% to 12% drop in coverage. Other stresses to the safety net hospital system could also bring in more uninsured patients, leaders have warned. The county expects to lose nearly 29, 000 members in its Medicaid managed care program, CountyCare, next year. To prepare for that and other looming cuts, the board agreed to move some of the nearly $1 billion sitting in the county’s “unassigned” reserves. $65 million will go into a “grant risk mitigation fund” in case the Trump administration scales back federal grants and $55 million would go to a pension reserve. Nearly $200 million will help make up for money the county expects to lose thanks to a lawsuit first brought by the Illinois Roadbuilders in 2018. A judge is scheduled to rule in early December about whether the county improperly spent money that should have been used on transportation projects. The county spent some of that money on public safety offices they argued helped enforce traffic laws. Elsewhere in the budget, State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke won budget tweaks to add ten positions to an “in-house digital forensics unit” she argued was sorely needed for attorneys to skim through reams of video evidence. That is paid for with a reroute of money set aside for capital projects. Six other new technology positions and eight victim witness specialists assigned to domestic violence cases in the office were also added in amendments. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plans to sweep roughly $1 billion from the city’s tax increment financing districts would deliver an additional $19. 9 million windfall to the county. If that money comes through, commissioners voted to spend $5. 8 million on help for renters in court; $4. 1 million on homeless services and $10 million on food access. Another half a million dollars from Stroger Hospital’s budget will go to hosting community mental health forums for young people in suburban districts.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/20/cook-county-budget-2026-holds-line-taxes-fees-federal-cuts/
Tag: homelessness
Local leaders break ground on new apartments in North Philly for people exiting homelessness
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday in North Philadelphia to mark the beginning of construction on new apartments designed to support people exiting homelessness. The new facility, named House of Grace, is located at 1315 W. Hunting Park Ave. It will feature 45 efficiency apartments, including 11 accessible units.
This development is the latest housing project from Project HOME, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Philadelphians to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty through housing.
“As we break ground today, we are not just building a structure, we are building on that legacy, on that vision,” said Project HOME CEO Donna Bullock. “We are building the future we want to live in, one where every person has a place to call home at Project HOME. We say it often, we say it proudly, and we say it with deep conviction. None of us is home until all of us are home.”
Bullock was joined by Mayor Cherelle Parker, state Sen. Sharif Street, Michael Young (president and CEO of Temple University Health), and Mark Schwartz (vice chair of the Board of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, or PHFA) for the ceremonial groundbreaking.
The development is expected to open next year.
Funding and Support
Mark Schwartz announced $16.7 million in funding for the health and housing programs at the new facility. This includes $1.6 million in low-income housing credits, which helped generate $15 million in equity from partner Citizens Bank. Additionally, PHFA and Schwartz will provide $1.85 million in tax credits for Project HOME’s next project, marking a record tax credit donation.
Mayor Cherelle Parker emphasized her belief in taking a “holistic, comprehensive approach to addressing homelessness” and supporting individuals facing mental health challenges and substance abuse disorders. She also reiterated her administration’s ambitious goal through the H.O.M.E. initiative to create and preserve 30,000 housing units in the city. “One housing unit at a time — that’s how we are going to get to 30,000,” Parker said.
State Senator Sharif Street, who is running for Congress, highlighted the importance of housing citing, “Housing equals dignity. Surroundings matter and having a place to live. Is it warm? Is it dry? Are you safe? Do you have a place to eat? These things matter.”
Voices from the Community
Nephali Andujar, a resident at Project HOME’s Inn of Amazing Mercy in Kensington, spoke about the impact of the organization’s work. “My father always told me that there are three things a person needs in life. You can’t do anything without housing. You need a place to stay. You need food and you need love,” he said.
“All of that I found here at Project HOME,” Andujar added. “When you help one person, it affects many people. By helping me, they have helped my family. No more sleepless nights. My daughter is 14. Now she’s proud of me. People who have known me during those dark days, and they see me now, for them is an inspiration.”
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https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/local-leaders-break-ground-on-new-apartments-in-north-philly-for-people-exiting-homelessness/article_3305cd00-8887-47b6-831b-d09f2409a9c9.html
Kelowna business pleads for action on social issues after being forced to temporarily shut down
Restoration crews have begun a major cleanup effort at Flashpoint Tattoo Company, located in the Rutland shopping plaza in Kelowna, B.C. The tattoo shop sustained significant smoke and water damage following a fire on Tuesday, causing a major disruption to business.
“It’s a major disruption to business,” said Mark Beaulieu, the shop’s owner. The fire started outside the shop and is believed to have been caused by people experiencing homelessness. “From what I hear, it was to warm some spaghetti,” Beaulieu explained.
Beaulieu, who has owned and operated the tattoo shop for 10 years, noted that problems such as fires and crime have become far more common in recent years as the unhoused population grows, along with the associated social issues. “We have had multiple fires here, just people keeping warm,” he said. “Things have gotten really extreme around here. As a matter of fact, my door has a lockout on it now. Some of my staff, they don’t feel safe.”
The Kelowna Fire Department told Global News it is aware of reports that a group of people experiencing homelessness may have been cooking food prior to the flames erupting. However, they added that at this point, the exact cause of the fire remains undetermined.
With the weather quickly turning colder, there are fears that fires started to keep warm will increase. Beaulieu is pleading for more to be done to help those on the streets and, in turn, the many businesses negatively affected by these incidents.
“I would like to see multiple levels of government, you know, address these issues,” Beaulieu said. “Make it a priority. How is this continuing to go on at this level?”
Last week, the city of Kelowna sent a 14-page letter to both the provincial and federal governments urging for action. The letter calls on the federal government to reform the bail system and for the province to hire more Crown prosecutors and implement mandatory compassionate care.
“There’s a group of individuals who need more care, and it is not compassionate to leave them on our streets,” Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas told Global News on Wednesday.
Beaulieu hopes to see changes implemented soon. “It’s frustrating that I feel like going to Ottawa myself and saying my piece,” he said. “I just feel like we are not being heard.”
For now, Beaulieu is focusing on the insurance and cleanup process to get his business back up and running as soon as possible.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11462175/kelowna-business-pleads-social-issues-forced-to-close/