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The calendar has turned to the final month, and, as was the case last year at this time, Chicago’s budget clock is ticking. Thanks to a pragmatic rump group of aldermen, though, there’s now reason for hope when it comes to the birthing of the 2026 budget.

As readers will recall, the budget chaos last year — which featured multiple rejections by aldermen of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposals for property tax hikes — led to the first downgrade of Chicago’s credit rating in a decade. It is an urgent priority, then, to forge a budget that preserves the city’s credit, now sitting just two uncomfortable notches above junk status.

The group of 26 aldermen (there could be more later) issued an alternative budget Tuesday to the mayor, and, with our pra

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