The Civic Federation supports the $492.1 million City Colleges of Chicago FY2010 budget because it is a prudent spending plan that both holds the District’s property tax levy flat over the next two years and compensates for uncertainties in State funding by proposing alternative plans to support core academic programs. The Federation is concerned that City Colleges is predicting revenue…
On June 30, 2009 the Chicago City Council passed a resolution asking the Civic Federation to conduct a review of the financial projections made by Chicago 2016 for the City’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Specifically, the resolution asked the Federation to deliver a report and recommendations to the City Council on Chicago’s financing of the 2016 games and any financial impact on…
Over the years, Illinois’ poorly funded retirement systems have put an enormous strain on the State’s budget. At times, the State has chosen to simply avoid the burden by making smaller contributions to the pension funds than required under a 1995 pension funding law. As part of the $54 billion FY2010 operating budget passed on July 15, 2009, the General Assembly and Governor chose to make…
This article describes the City of Chicago’s plans to close an operating budget deficit of about $300 million with worker furloughs and funds received as part of the privatization of the city’s assets. The Civic Federation is quoted staying that while cuts to the city’s payroll are desperately needed, spending funds received from privatizations on operating costs is inefficient.
In this column, Steve Huntley explores the deadlock in Springfield over the State of Illinois budget. He cites the Civic Federation’s analysis of Governor Quinn’s proposed budget, which advocated state employee pension and health care benefit reforms and budget cuts before any kind of tax increase.
The Chicago City Council recently passed a resolution requesting that the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid’s finances undergo analysis by the Civic Federation. The resolution is a response to Mayor Daley’s announcement that he would sign an unlimited financial guarantee of the Olympic Games.
In this news segment about a proposed increase to the Illinois income tax, the Civic Federation expresses concerns that too much of the focus in Springfield is on raising taxes, rather than fixing the state’s current fiscal problems. The Federation notes that it could support a small increase in the income tax, provided that state pensions are properly funded.
In an editorial about Governor Quinn’s proposed cuts to the Illinois budget, the Chicago Tribune strongly commended the Civic Federation’s analysis of the state’s FY2010 budget, saying it has “produced solid recommendations for saving billions of dollars in state spending.”
The Civic Federation's Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability wrote this issue brief about the Illinois Medicaid Program. The report provides an overview of Medicaid in Illinois and highlights areas where the program's cost efficiency might be improved. The report recommends that the General Assembly form a joint legislative and gubernatorial commission to launch a review of the future…
This report analyzes the public funding for 12 major cultural institutions in Cook County that receive property tax-based funding from the Chicago Park District or the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. It makes recommendations for alternative funding sources that could stabilize the public funding for these and other institutions.
