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In-person and virtual public forums and online form offer residents an opportunity to get involved in the 2026 budget planning process and provide valuable input

Today, the Chicago Park District announced three ways Chicagoans can participate in shaping the District’s 2026 year budget. The District will host an in-person and a virtual budget forum and offer an online form that residents can use to share their ideas on the 2026 spending plan. 

“Chicago residents are our most valuable stakeholders and their input is vital to our work in allocating funds to best meet the needs of our parks and patrons,” said Chicago Park District General Superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez- Rosa. “We are offering three options for the public to take part in the Park District’s budget process and look forward to hearing from patrons but also doing the collective work of strengthening our parks in the coming year.”

The Park District will host an in-person public budget forum on Monday, September 22, 2025 at 6 p.m. at the Chicago Park District headquarters/ Park No. 596 at 4830 S. Western Avenue. Registration begins at 5 p.m. and the forum begins promptly at 6 p.m. 

The online public forum is scheduled for Thursday, September 25, 2025 at 6 p.m. Attendees may log-in at 5:30 p.m. using the meeting link here. Upon joining, participants will be placed in a waiting room before being admitted at 6 p.m. 

As a third option, the Park District is also offering an online form that Chicagoans can fill out and submit their input. The form can be found here. Results from both forums and the online form will be taken into account during the planning process of the 2026 budget. 

During the forums, the Park District will deliver a brief presentation followed by timed public comments. 

For more information about the annual budget process, patrons can visit www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/annual-budget-process.