This Curious City segment on the CTA asks “How many fares does it take for a bus to get to the break even point?” The Civic Federation said the concept of breaking even is not a reasonable expectation for the public agency; rather that the goal should always be reducing the cost of the system in order to attract more riders or expand services.
As Illinois enters the sixth month of fiscal year 2016 without a budget, the backlog of unpaid group health insurance bills has reached more than $2 billion and is likely to grow much larger. In the absence of an FY2016 budget, the group health insurance program is one of the major areas of State government for which there appears to be no legal authority to pay the bills. Nevertheless, the…
In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation announced it supports the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s Tentative FY2016 budget of $1.21 billion. The District proposes a reasonable, balanced budget while maintaining ample reserves and continuing to be fiscally responsible by properly funding its pensions and prefunding its retiree health benefits. The full 55-page analysis is…
The Civic Federation Supports the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s tentative budget of $1.21 billion for being reasonable and balanced while maintaining ample reserves and for its fiscal responsibility in properly funding pensions and prefunding retiree health benefits. The FY2016 budget includes the maximum property tax increase allowed under state law for the third year in a row, with…
Accommodates Increased Pension Contributions and Holds Property Tax Levy Relatively Flat In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation supports the Chicago Park District’s proposed FY2016 operating budget of $458.1 million. The budget proposal reduces the District’s reliance on one-time revenue sources and accommodates increased employer pension contributions for the second year in a row…
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) recently released its FY2016 proposed budget. While the Civic Federation traditionally analyzes features common to all local government budgets, our analyses of the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) budgets include a review of the Authority’s productivity measurement data. The Civic Federation uses expenditures, ridership and miles traveled data provided by the…
This article discusses the Chicago Transit Authority’s proposed FY2016 budget in advance of the November 16 budget hearing. It cites the Civic Federation’s FY2016 CTA Budget Analysis. The analysis supports the budget overall but warned against relying on funding from Illinois, particularly given that the CTA did not receive its full State subsidy in FY2015.
This article reviews a borrowing plan for the State of Illinois that would pay for State bills by issuing bonds with funds withdrawn from Illinois Finance Authority Board investments. The Civic Federation said the plan is indicative of the State’s inefficient operations, and any additional borrowing only exacerbates Illinois’ debt.
This article discusses the ongoing budget impasse in Illinois—the State is now in its fifth month without a budget. It uses information from the Civic Federation’s FY2016 State of Illinois Budget Roadmap to analyze the rise in the State’s backlog of unpaid bills following the decline in revenue the State experienced beginning January 1, 2015, due to the partial rollback of the Illinois income tax.
The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s proposed $190.3 million budget. The proposed plan is reasonable and balanced, does not use fund balance reserves for operations and holds the property tax levy relatively flat at a time when many other local governments have sought large revenue increases. However, the District’s underfunded pensions remain a concern and…
