The Civic Federation today released a position paper calling on the Illinois General Assembly to pursue foundational structural reform of Northeastern Illinois’ mass transit systems—the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra, Pace and the Regional Transit Authority (RTA)—by centralizing the service boards and operations under a single, duly empowered and resourced regional transit agency. Doing…
CHICAGO — The Civic Federation today released a position paper calling on the Illinois General Assembly to pursue foundational structural reform of Northeastern Illinois’ mass transit systems—the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra, Pace and the Regional Transit Authority (RTA)—by centralizing the service boards and operations under a single, duly empowered and resourced regional transit…
The Civic Federation today releases a report calling for the consolidation of the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, Pace and the Regional Transit Authority into a single regional transit agency. The Federation urges linking transit governance reform with funding.
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recently published a report entitled Should We Rethink Reserves? A Multimillion Dollar Question recommending that governments use risk analysis techniques to optimize the use of their reserves beyond adhering to traditional reserve standards. This approach can allow governments to tailor their reserve needs to their particular circumstances…
Fund balance is a term used to describe the net assets of a governmental fund and serves as a measure of budgetary reserves.[1] In FY2021, the last year for which audited financial information is available, Cook County’s total unrestricted general fund balance was $869.1 million. This was a $276.0 million, or 46.5%, increase from the prior fiscal year. It represented 53.6% of general fund…
This blog post examines the Chicago Public Schools’ contributions to the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund in the FY2023 budget and the funding status of the Pension Fund based on financial health indicators. Additional descriptive information about teachers’ pension benefits and history can be found in past budget analyses.[1] Members of the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund Certified CPS teachers…
The Civic Federation recently released its analysis of the Chicago Public Schools proposed FY2023 budget. The Federation opposed the budget because the District has not provided sufficient justification for raising its property tax to the maximum amount allowed under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) at a time when taxpayers already face serious economic strains and when CPS has…
(CHICAGO) In a report released today, the Civic Federation announced support for Cook County’s proposed FY2019 budget. The $5.9 billion budget proposal is structurally balanced without raising new taxes and continues the practice of making supplemental pension payments. The full report is available here. “Overall, this budget is a prudent plan for the coming year—but it fails to set its sights…
Click here to read the full report. The Civic Federation supports Cook County’s proposed FY2019 budget of $5.9 billion because it is structurally balanced without raising new taxes and continues the practice of making supplemental pension payments. The Federation is encouraged by the County’s strong level of fund balance reserves and its commitment to performance-based budgeting and…
The City of Chicago released its 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) earlier this summer. This blog will examine the City’s Corporate Fund (i.e. General Fund) fund balance as a percent of general operating expenditures based on audited data from the City’s most recent CAFR. This ratio serves as a measure of whether a government is maintaining adequate levels of fund balance to…
