Chicago City Workers Owe $18 Million in Unpaid Fines and Fees, Facing Scrutiny

City of Chicago employees and sister agency workers carry significant debt as the city prepares for looming budget challenges

One in four Chicago Transit Authority workers carrying outstanding debt to cityPhoto byRama LaksonoonUnsplash

CHICAGO - The city of Chicago is grappling with more than $18 million in unpaid fines and fees owed by its own employees, as well as those from sister agencies. This financial burden emerges while Mayor Brandon Johnson faces a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year. The debt, consisting of unpaid parking tickets, water bills, and other fees, underscores the city’s broader struggle to collect long-standing delinquent payments.

Among the city’s employees are numerous individuals with substantial outstanding debts. For instance, a tree trimmer owes $13,000 in unpaid parking tickets, a building inspector from the public health department has accumulated $20,000 in administrative hearing fees, and a police detective is behind on more than $23,000 in unpaid water bills.

However, the majority of the debt is not tied directly to employees working at City Hall. About $16.5 million of the total is attributed to employees of sister agencies, notably the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). Roughly 25% of CTA employees are reported to be carrying unpaid debts, the highest proportion among the city's various agencies.

The overall $18 million owed by public workers is just a fraction of the larger debt issue Chicago faces. Over the last 30 years, the city has failed to collect approximately $6.4 billion in delinquent payments. According to City Comptroller Chasse Rehwinkel, much of this debt is considered irrecoverable due to factors such as the deaths of debtors or the dissolution of businesses. Still, more than 12,000 public employees owe the city, contributing significantly to the outstanding balance.

Currently, about 1,500 city employees—roughly 5% of the total municipal workforce—are behind on payments. City officials note that this figure might not be entirely reflective of the general population, as the Department of Finance tracks individual debts but not the people behind them.

As of mid-July, city employees owed approximately $1.6 million, with the bulk of this debt stemming from unpaid parking tickets totaling around $775,000. The Chicago Police Department (CPD), the city’s largest employer, has the highest share of city worker debt, with more than $655,000 in unpaid fees, including $328,000 in overdue water bills and $250,000 in parking tickets.

More than 650 police officers, detectives, and other CPD employees owe payments to the city, representing 6% of the department. One officer, earning an annual salary of $110,178, has accumulated $27,159 in administrative hearing debts. Another officer, with a salary of $106,482, owes over $7,000 in unpaid parking tickets.

A detective in the department has accumulated a significant debt load, with $23,054 in unpaid water bills, $1,210 in parking tickets, and $1,746 in administrative hearing costs.

Workers for the Chicago Board of Education, the city’s largest sister agency, owe a collective $8.6 million, with over 6,000 employees in debt. This amounts to nearly 8% of the total workforce in the Chicago Public Schools system. One special education classroom assistant alone owes the city nearly $36,000 in unpaid parking tickets.

At the CTA, about 3,700 employees owe the city $6.8 million, meaning nearly 25% of the transit agency’s staff has outstanding debt. One bus driver owes a staggering $53,000 in administrative hearing debt, and the city has garnished wages to recoup some of these funds. However, not all employees are on payment plans. One CTA bus driver, who owes over $29,000 in parking tickets and late fees, has yet to enter a payment arrangement.

Rehwinkel noted that the city’s Law Department collections unit regularly informs department heads of their employees' delinquent debts. Workers can face disciplinary measures if they do not settle their outstanding fees. This internal tracking has resulted in some high-profile repayments.

Earlier this summer, two Chicago City Council members addressed their own outstanding debts after inquiries from the Chicago Sun-Times. Alderman William Hall of the 6th Ward paid off a $1,769.53 delinquent water bill, while Alderman Ruth Cruz of the 30th Ward cleared her $416.85 debt. Both officials stated that the delinquencies were the result of oversight.

City Comptroller Rehwinkel acknowledged that the city has its own issues with billing, particularly with larger entities. Earlier this year, the city collected over $1 million in overdue payments from concert promoters, large venues, and corporations after being questioned about why they were behind on their obligations. Some businesses claimed that the city itself was often late in sending out bills. Rehwinkel confirmed these issues and said the city is working on rectifying them.

The $6.4 billion in unpaid fines and fees that the city has accumulated over the past 30 years includes nearly $2.9 billion in administrative hearing debts, over $2.3 billion in unpaid parking, speed-camera, and red-light-camera tickets, and around $723 million in outstanding water bills.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, who during his 2023 mayoral campaign paid off more than $3,000 in his own delinquent water bills, has already introduced measures to address the city’s financial challenges. His administration is currently facing a projected $982 million budget gap for 2025, and in response, the mayor has implemented a partial hiring freeze.