This article is about City of Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel’s plans to fix the City’s budget gap and pension funding issues. The Civic Federation says the City’s financial condition is precarious and the next mayor will need to make some tough choices.
In this article about the City of Chicago’s plan to incur debt to pay City firefighters back pay, the Civic Federation says that borrowing funds to pay for operating costs is expensive and demonstrates a lack of financial planning.
This article examines the City of Chicago Inspector General’s revelation that unpaid furlough days taken by City employees to help bridge a City budget gap may have also contributed to a shortchanging of the City’s pension systems. The Civic Federation says the City has a very short-term fiscal outlook, which creates challenges for the next Mayor and City Council.
Illinois’ budgetary woes put it in the company of states such as California and Nevada that are suffering major economic consequences due to unsound fiscal policies and the current economic climate. However, other states, including those known for better fiscal management, are being forced to make tough choices to reconcile their budgets. The state of Texas, whose economic condition was described…
The following opinion piece by Civic Federation President Laurence Msall appeared in the February 7, 2011 edition of Crain’s Chicago Business. As the rest of us try to put the Groundhog Day blizzard behind us, the state Legislature is heading back to Springfield. There they will debate a plan that could put a fiscal iceberg right in the path of the Illinois ship of state and guarantee that last…
The State of Illinois is anticipating a large increase in revenues from income tax rate increases approved in January and additional resources from borrowing to make its pension payment for the second year in a row. Even so, the Governor and General Assembly are considering borrowing billions more before the end of the fiscal year. The massive borrowing plan was introduced in the prior…
The staff and President of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County filed a FY2011 proposed budget for review by the District’s governing board on October 6, 2010, almost three months before the start of the new fiscal year on January 1, 2011. Despite the staff’s timely preparation of a budget, the Board declined to review the proposal in October. Instead, a new budget was presented more than…
This article about Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle’s proposed FY2011 budget, which makes major cuts and restructures debt to fill a nearly $500 million budget gap, mentions that the Civic Federation supports the proposed reforms.
This post on the Clout Street blog is about Cook County’s proposed FY2011 budget plans, which include major personnel cuts and debt restructuring to reduce a nearly $500 million budget gap. The Civic Federation says the budget proposal reflects a new era for County government as it tries to gain control over its finances.
In this blog entry, Greg Hinz discusses Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle’s proposed FY2011 County budget, which calls for significant personnel reductions to help reduce a large budget gap. The Civic Federation says the proposed budget includes major structural reforms and matches revenue with expenses.
