The License Appeal Commission is a standalone adjudicatory body for hearings relating to business liquor licenses. It is the city’s smallest department by headcount and budget, with a single staff assistant on payroll.
Staffing levels at LAC have not changed in over a decade. The commission operates with a single budgeted staff assistant.
LAC’s appropriations remain largely unchanged from the previous year, with slight increases in salary and office supply categories and a very slight decrease in outside contracting through the professional and technical services appropriation.
In 2025, the most recent complete budget year for which local fund actuals and encumbrances data is available, LAC spent 81.1% of its locally-funded budget, with a slight $3,469 (3.1%) overspend in personnel services.
Historical Context
From 2011-2026, LAC budget grew at an average rate of 0.8% annually, which when adjusted for inflation through 2025 works out to a -1.3% decline, compared to a citywide average rate of 5.5% (inflation-adjusted 3.2%). The current proposal would increase the department’s appropriations by 3.6% from the previous year.
License Appeal Commission 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 LAC fringe cost for nongrant employees averaged 25.3% from 2018-2026, compared to a citywide average of 26.8%.
License Appeal Commission 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, LAC spent on average 79.2% of its locally funded budget, compared to the citywide average 86.6% local fund spend.
License Appeal Commission Local Fund Actuals, 2022–2025
Staffing levels at LAC have not changed in over a decade. The commission operates with a single budgeted staff assistant.
From January through September of 2026, the months for which full-time position vacancy data is currently available, LAC had no vacancies.
Budgeted Position Changes
The 2027 proposal makes no changes to LAC’s budgeted headcount.
Appropriations
LAC is entirely funded from the city’s general-purpose corporate fund.
Largest Appropriations
As with most departments, personnel costs make up the bulk of LAC’s appropriations, with salaries and wages on payroll by far the largest expense category.
License Appeal Commission Top 10 Largest Appropriations, 2027 proposed
In 2025, the most recent complete budget year for which local fund actuals and encumbrances data is available, LAC spent 81.1% of its locally-funded budget, with a slight $3,469 (3.1%) overspend in personnel services.
License Appeal Commission 2025 Actual Spend (Local Funds)
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.
