The Chicago Police Department is by far the largest city department, in terms of both headcount and budgeted appropriations.
CPD positions make up 38.3% of the city’s total budgeted headcount in the 2027 budget proposal. The next-largest department, the Chicago Fire Department, is roughly one-third the size of CPD, with all other departments considerably smaller.
CPD appropriations make up 20.3% of all departmental budgets in the 2027 proposal. Looking at non-grant funds only, CPD makes up 30.2% of locally-funded departmental appropriations, and 47.3% of corporate funded departmental appropriations.
In addition to receiving the largest budget by far of any city department, CPD also routinely goes over-budget every year. In 2025, the most recent budget year for which actuals are available, CPD exceeded its budget appropriations by $145.8 million.
Chicago Police Department Snapshot: Appropriation & Staffing Changes from 2026 Budget
The proposed 2027 budget increases appropriations in overtime and legal judgements and settlements, two of CPD’s main drivers of over-budget spend in recent years. However, the proposed appropriations are still not as large as actual expenses in recent years, according to Department of Finance actuals data and Office of Inspector General overtime calculations.
CPD has the highest departmental fringe costs for nongrant employee pension and benefits in the city. From 2018-2026, CPD averaged a fringe rate of 61.9%, compared to the citywide average of 26.8%.
CPD’s position changes in the 2027 proposal see a shift away from uniformed police positions and towards civilianized roles, with a net reduction of 144 positions represented by the Fraternal Order of Police. The proposal would see a net increase of 111 positions represented by AFSCME 31, 46 represented by SEIU 73 / IBEW 21, and one exempt role.
Operationally, nearly all of the eliminated positions in the 2027 proposal come from the Patrol Services division, down -12.3% of its total budgeted headcount from the previous year. The Bureau of Crime Control Strategies saw the largest net increase in budgeted headcount, with divisional increases also at the Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform, Bureau of Detectives, Office of the First Deputy, and Chicago Police Department (a general-purpose division label encompassing the Bureau of Internal Affairs, Office of Community Policing, Office of the Chief of Staff, Office of the Superintendent, and Special Activities Section).
In addition to various increased personnel expenses, the proposal also includes a $16.3 million (125.5%) increase in CPD’s outside contracting through the professional and technical services appropriation.
Historical Context
From 2011-2026, CPD’s budget grew at an average rate of 2.8% annually, or 0.6% when adjusted for inflation through 2025, compared to a citywide average rate of 5.5% (inflation-adjusted 3.2%). The current proposal would increase the department’s appropriations by 6.3% from the previous year.
Chicago Police Department Appropriations and Inflation-adjusted Appropriations (2025 dollars)
Values in nominal dollars.
Values in 2025 dollars. No supplied inflation factors for 2026, 2027; those years remain gaps.
City budgets do not break out “fringe” pension and benefit costs for non-grant positions by department, instead grouping them together as citywide expenses under the Finance General section of the budget. To better reflect the real cost of service for departmental operations, BGA Policy has included an estimate of pension and benefit costs for the years 2018-2026, using Department of Finance fringe memos from each relevant year. An estimated fringe cost for the 2027 proposal uses the average annual rate of increase for each of the inputs into the fringe formulae.
Based on the city’s fringe formulae, the CPD fringe cost for nongrant employees averaged 61.9% from 2018-2026, compared to a citywide average of 26.8%. CPD has the highest fringe costs of any department.
Chicago Police Department Appropriations with Estimated Fringe Cost of Pensions and Benefits for Budgeted Non-grant Positions, 2018–2027 (proposed)
Over the past four complete budget years for which local fund actuals/encumbrances data is available, CPD spent on average 106.8% of its locally funded budget, the only city department to go over-budget in all four years, and by far the most over-budget department in every year.
Chicago Police Department Local Fund Actuals, 2022–2025
Staffing levels at CPD have fluctuated over the years, averaging out to a slight annual decline of -0.8% from 2011-2026, compared to a citywide average annual change of -0.1%. The current proposal would increase budgeted headcount by 0.1% from the previous year.
Chicago Police Department Budgeted Workforce, 2011–2027 (proposed)
From January through September of 2026, the months for which full-time position vacancy data is currently available, CPD averaged a 9.7% vacancy rate, compared to the citywide average of 11.2%.
Chicago Police Department Full-time Vacancies, Jan-Sept 2026
1069 of the department’s budgeted full-time positions were persistent vacancies (defined as the number of positions within the same combination of title, subsection, section, division, department, and fund codes that remained vacant in all nine months of available data), of which roughly half (588 positions) were in the basic Police Officer title:
Chicago Police Department Persistent Full-time Vacancies, Jan-Sept 2026
CPD’s position changes in the 2027 proposal see a shift away from uniformed police positions and towards civilianized roles, with a net reduction of 144 positions represented by the Fraternal Order of Police. The proposal would see a net increase of 111 positions represented by AFSCME 31, 46 represented by SEIU 73 / IBEW 21, and one exempt role.
At the title level, the 2027 proposal substantially increases the department’s forensic roles, with a net addition of 17 positions across various forensic titles. Clerk and administrative roles are also up substantially, with a net increase of 76 positions across various clerk, admin, and assistant titles, primarily driven by the addition of 80 new positions in the Police Admin Clerk title.
The bulk of the reduction in positions comes from the elimination of 149 budgeted Police Officer positions. From Jan-Sept of 2026, CPD had at minimum 588 vacant Police Officer positions each month, meaning the reduction in budgeted positions is far less than the department’s recent vacancy rates for the title.
Chicago Police Department Net and Percent Position/FTE Changes, 2026 to 2027 (Proposed) Budgets
Operationally, nearly all of the eliminated positions in the 2027 proposal come from the Patrol Services division, down -12.3% of its total budgeted headcount from the previous year.
The Bureau of Crime Control Strategies saw the largest net increase in budgeted headcount, with divisional increases also at the Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform, Bureau of Detectives, Office of the First Deputy, and Chicago Police Department (a general-purpose division label encompassing the Bureau of Internal Affairs, Office of Community Policing, Office of the Chief of Staff, Office of the Superintendent, and Special Activities Section).
Division
2026 Budgeted
2027 Proposed
Net Change
Percent Change
Bureau of Crime Control Strategies
256
752
496
193.8%
Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform
605
1002
397
65.6%
Bureau of Detectives
548
763
215
39.2%
Chicago Police Department
342
453
111
32.5%
Office of the First Deputy
66
175
109
165.2%
DHS – FEMA – CTA – Rail and Transit Security Grant Program (97.075)
34
34
0
0.0%
DHS – FEMA – IEMA – Homeland Security Grant Program (UASI) (97.076)
1
1
0
0.0%
DOJ – COPS – CTY – Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing (16.710)
148
148
0
0.0%
DOJ – OJP – Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (16.738)
7
7
0
0.0%
DOJ – OVW – CTY – Violence Against Women Formula Grants (16.588)
CPD is 95.6% locally-funded in this year’s budget proposal, down very slightly from the previous year’s 95.9%
90.5% of CPD’s appropriations come from the city’s general-purpose corporate fund, with the remainder of local funds coming from the airport funds for airport-specific security roles.
Chicago Police Department Fund Comparison, 2026–2027
As with most departments, personnel costs make up the bulk of CPD’s appropriations, with salaries and wages on payroll by far the largest expense category.
The 2027 budget also appropriates $204.6 million for police overtime, which has historically been a major driver of CPD’s overspend. Legal settlements and judgements, another historical overspend driver, is the department’s third-largest appropriation category.
Chicago Police Department Top 10 Largest Appropriations, 2027 proposed
In 2025, the most recent complete budget year for which local fund actuals and encumbrances data is available, CPD spent 107.7% of its locally-funded budget.
Chicago Police Department 2025 Actual Spend (Local Funds)
The largest appropriation-level net increases from the previous year’s budget in the 2027 proposal are personnel-related, with a $65.3 million (4.4%) increase in salaries and wages and a $45.1 million (140.9%) increase in salary provision.
The proposal also includes a $16.3 million (125.5%) increase in outside contracting through the professional and technical services appropriation.
For the first year since 2020, the 2027 budget increases the appropriation for legal settlements and judgements, up $8.4 million (10.1%) from 2026. In 2025, the most recent budget year for which full-year actuals are available, CPD overspent its budgeted $82.6 million for settlements and judgements by $48.5 million.
The 2027 budget proposal makes no change in the previous year’s $204.6 appropriation for overtime. Department of Finance actuals data does not break out overtime as an individual appropriation category, but a separate database maintained by the Office of Inspector General reported a total $285.7 million in CPD overtime earnings for 2025.
Chicago Police Department Net and Percent Appropriation Changes, 2026 to 2027 (proposed) Budgets
Geoffrey Cubbage analyzes policy and budgets at the Better Government Association, covering state lawmakers and Chicago City Council. He joined BGA in 2022 after directing policy and economic development for Chicago’s 40th Ward.
