The city’s money nightmare before — and after? — Christmas.

By India Daniels and Grace Del Vecchio

It’s time for our fifth annual #ChiBudgetBingo, when we brainstorm a bingo board of things that could happen at City Council’s budget vote meeting, Chicago Documenters give you a play-by-play of the proceedings and you get a chance to win cool prizes!

This budget season has certainly had its ups and downs and twists and turns. Last week, 28 of Chicago’s 50 alders issued a letter calling for greater transparency and collaboration and Mayor Brandon Johnson briefed alders on a revised plan for a $68.5 million property tax hike and another $165.5 million in increased fines and fees for streaming and cloud services, rideshares, plastic grocery bags, and more.

Mood: Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th Ward) asking questions during the Department of Law budget hearing.

It all comes to a head this Friday, Dec. 13 at 10 a.m., when City Council is scheduled to take a final vote.

This year, Maureen Dunne (@rollingwaves) will be taking over the Chicago Documenters Twitter account as budget bingo caller. Maureen has been involved with Chicago Documenters since Aug. 2021 as a notetaker, live-tweeter and fact checker, covering everything from budgets hearings and Police District Councils to City Council’s passage of the historic resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

Maureen is a freelance reporter for the Harvey World Herald and a former reporting resident at Injustice Watch. You can find her reporting and fact-checking work featured in various local publications. 

We’ll also have Sonal Soni (@sonal_soni_) on the ground at City Hall to provide a non-bingo account of the budget vote. Sonal has been documenting since July 2021. They’re a former City Bureau civic reporting fellow and currently provide freelance editorial support on Chicago Documenters submissions.

How to play

  1. Pull up your bingo board — this link will generate a randomized bingo board, with squares thought up by City Bureau staff and Chicago Documenters.

  2. Follow along with us on Twitter/X (@CHIdocumenters). You can tune in to the City Council livestream at www.chicityclerk.com.

  3. Mark off boxes as they happen (click on a square to check it off). The ChiDocumenters Twitter account will have the official say on which boxes you get to check, so keep following along. 

  4. If you get five squares in a row (vertical, horizontal or diagonal), tweet or email a screenshot of your winning board to documenters@citybureau.org. We’ve got some serious swag up for grabs 😎

THE PRIZES

Here’s what you’re playing for:

14 oz insulated travel mug

The first person to get bingo will receive an extremely limited edition Yeti mug in their choice of black or white.

Pint glass

We can have more than one winner here! The first three people to get bingo will receive a “Chicago Documenters, powered by City Bureau” branded pint glass!

Chicago Documenters clear bag

Whether you’re headed to an NFL game, Lolla or City Hall, a reasonably capacious clear bag is a must-have, and it could be yours! All we’re asking is that you:

  1. Spread the word about budget bingo on a social media platform of your choice any time this week or day-of, Dec. 13. We’re interested in how people are using and interacting with the current social media terrain. You can get creative with it, but please include the following in your post:

    1. #ChiBudgetBingo

    2. #CHIdocumenters

    3. Link to this blog post: https://tinyurl.com/2025ChiBudgetBingo

  2. Email a link to your post to documenters@citybureau.org. 

We’ll be in touch to coordinate next steps. Bags will be available for pick up at the City Bureau office (3619 S. State St., Chicago, IL 60609) and can also be mailed within the continental U.S. (please provide a mailing address).