This article discusses Mayor Emanuel’s plan to tackle a sharp increase in required payments to the City’s pension funds next year, based on a 2010 law aimed at bringing the City’s Police and Fire pension funds back to 90 percent funded by 2040. The Civic Federation said the law’s 25-year funding plan was a political construct and not tied to any actuarial analysis.
This article discusses the FY2016 Recommended Budget Analysis released by the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation. The Civic Federation opposed the budget because the analysis found that certain spending reductions are either unrealistic or inconsistent with the State’s long-term financial goals.
This article covers an analysis released on the Governor’s FY2016 Recommended Budget by the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability. The analysis found that while the budget closes a $6.2 billion gap on paper, it relies heavily on projected savings that do not appear to be achievable.
This article covers the FY2016 Recommended Budget Analysis released by the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability on May 7. The analysis found that certain projected savings included in the budget are dependent on changes in State law and are likely unachievable within the timeframe of the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2015.
This segment reports on recent proposals for a casino in the City of Chicago intended to generate revenue for the City, primarily to pay down unfunded pension liabilities. The Civic Federation said it is unclear how much revenue a new casino could generate, but it is unlikely it would be enough to solve the City’s financial problems.
This article looks at the growth of CountyCare, Cook County’s initiative to provide Medicaid coverage for low-income adult patients who are currently uninsured. The Civic Federation said the expansion of CountyCare and the resulting increase in insured patients and revenue has transformed the Cook County Health and Hospital System’s financial position.
An Illinois Supreme Court decision overturning legislation to reduce the State’s massive pension costs will add to the difficulty of creating a balanced operating budget for the year that begins on July 1, 2015. The high court struck down the law on May 8, ruling that it violated the Illinois Constitution by cutting benefits for retirees and employees. The 2013 legislation reduced annual benefit…
Urges General Assembly to Identify Alternate Plan for Closing $6.2 Billion Budget Gap In a new report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability opposes Governor Rauner’s recommended budget for FY2016 because it relies heavily on projected savings that do not appear to be achievable or prudent in light of the State of Illinois’ obligations and long-term…
The Civic Federation opposes Governor Bruce Rauner’s recommended budget for FY2016 because it relies heavily on projected savings that do not appear to be achievable or prudent in light of the State of Illinois’ obligations and long-term policy objectives. Savings of $2.2 billion related to a new pension reform proposal are assumed to be realized in the budget, even though this proposal has not…
On May 1, 2015, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) released their proposed FY2016 capital budget and an updated Five-Year capital improvement plan for FY2016-FY2020. The exhibit below shows the amounts proposed by CPS for FY2016-FY2020 for capital spending. In those five years, a total of approximately $536.8 million has been forecast for projects. This is nearly a 57% decrease from the FY2015-FY2019…
