Public Media Faces $1.1 Billion Cut Nationwide

On May 1, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and federal agencies to halt funding to NPR and PBS “to the maximum extent allowed by law.” Then, on June 3, the White House followed up with a formal request to Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in already-approved funding—including $1.1 billion earmarked for public broadcasting. Congress now has 45 days to respond—but a vote could happen much sooner.

This dual threat would eliminate nearly all federal support for public media—crippling a system that reaches every corner of the country, including underserved communities where public outlets are the only local source of news, emergency information, and cultural programming.

Chicago Public Media stands to lose about $3 million—about 6% of our annual budget—which helps sustain WBEZ and the Sun-Times’ journalism, broadcast infrastructure, and educational programming.

At Chicago Public Media, we believe that investment in local news is an investment in our region. As one study notes, communities with reliable sources of news experience higher voter participation in local and state elections, lower levels of government and business corruption, and lower prices and taxes than they see when those sources disappear.

Chicago Public Media is a nonprofit free from corporate and political influence, dedicated to strengthening the well-being of our communities and democracy through independent local journalism.

We believe our work speaks for itself.

Here is some of the reporting our readers have supported:

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

• In 2025, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign chair stepped aside after the Sun-Times asked whether it’s appropriate for her to run the campaign fund while working for the Chicago Teachers Union.
• In 2025, the Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board cited the Sun-Times’ reporting on opioid overdoses in Black men born between 1971–1970 when while discussing approving funding for overdose prevention sites.
• In 2025, social media giant Meta backed down and restored former Sun-Times media columnist Rob Feder’s Facebook page after a column from Neil Steinberg about the page’s mysterious suspension.

• In 2024, the Sun-Times obtained data on $1.3 million in traffic control bills owed to City Hall by the city’s sports teams, concert promoters and organizers of special events. When reporters began calling those businesses, they began paying up. One million dollars of the $1.3 million in unpaid traffic control bills got paid, records show.
• In 2024, Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele fired an aide who had pleaded guilty in federal court and testified in a corruption case against his brother after WBEZ asked questions about his background.
• In 2024, the Sun-Times and WBEZ’s School Board Voter Guide won widespread acclaim and helped thousands of voters make informed decisions in the city’s first school board elections.
• In 2024, Chicago city building officials backed off a threat to fine homeowner Robert Christie for not repairing damage caused by trucks that keep backing up into his Northwest Side home after questions from a Sun-Times reporter. The Sun-Times reported the damage was caused by bad street design and signs drivers didn’t notice.
• In 2024, a Sun-Times investigation found Cook County Assesor Fritz Kaegi’s office had improperly given massive tax breaks under an Illinois program that allows people 65 and older with a household income of no more than $65,000 to get tax relief on their primary residence. As a result of the investigation:
  
  • Kaegi vowed to review senior citizen assessment freezes, including one on a $7.1 million mansion overlooking Lake Michigan in Winnetka.
  • A City Hall lobbyist and former Cook County Official paid $96,000 back in tax breaks, penalty and interest on a pair of two-flats.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

• In 2024, a bill was introduced in Springfield to require a lawyer for young people under 18 during a police interrogation — a response to WBEZ reporting that showed how a suburban Chicago detective extracted a teen’s false confession to a shooting.
• In 2024, a Sun-Times investigation found two Chicago City Council members had delinquent water bills owed to City Hall. Two more paid up only after Sun-Times reporters asked questions about their bills.
• In 2024, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign fund returned more than $50,000 in contributions from city contractors after the Sun-Times reported the donations violated a City Hall ethics rule.
• In 2023, an investigation by WBEZ, the Sun-Times and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project found dozens of current and former Chicago cops were among the Illinois law enforcement officials who once joined the Oath Keepers. The investigation lead to a number of impacts:
  
  • Color of Change, a national civil rights group, joined local activists and nearly a dozen elected leaders in calling for the firing of the officers.
  • City Hall’s independent watchdog urged the Chicago Police Department to reopen its investigation that absolved eight officers with ties to the Oath Keepers.
  • Police Supt. Larry Snelling told a City Council hearing there would be “stringent” efforts to root out extremists and “remove those members from our ranks.” After an internal probe, the department decided not to punish any of the officers.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

• In 2023, the Sun-Times managed to get the previously unreleased names of customers who lost money when a politically connected Chicago bank was shut down over an embezzlement scheme. The Sun-Times’ reporting on the impact on customers’ lives was later cited by prosecutors in court filings.
• In 2022, Roderick Woodson of Morgan Park saw $997 mysteriously drained from his Chime Financial account in minutes. The company restored his money after a Sun-Times reporter asked: What happened?