Chicago’s revenue exceeded estimates by 7.2% in the first two months of this year thanks to taxes on cloud storage and home sales, collections that will help a city that’s struggling with annual deficits.
The city collected $365.7 million in revenue during this period, according to a report on its website. That represents a turnaround from January, which showed revenue 4.2% below forecast.
Any additional cash will be helpful for Mayor Brandon Johnson after he closed a roughly $1 billion deficit for this year and previously estimated a similar shortfall for next year. The budget for 2025 that the City Council narrowly passed at the end of last year came after a patchwork of tax hikes.
Bloomberg Economics
By Shruti Singh
April 2, 2025