In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation announced that it cannot support the Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) short-sighted FY2015 budget because it does nothing to address the District’s grave fiscal crisis. The proposed $6.8 billion budget is balanced only by an accounting maneuver that allows the District to book more than 12 months of revenue into a single fiscal year. The Civic…
The Civic Federation does not support Chicago Public Schools proposed $6.8 billion budget for FY2015. The short-sighted budget does nothing to address the District’s grave fiscal crisis and is balanced only by an accounting maneuver that allows the District to book more than 12 months of revenue into a single fiscal year. This one-time and non-recurring revenue will leave a gap in future budgets…
This article details a decade of leases, deals and debts related to Millennium Park—a park originally envisioned as a $150 million open green space that would be no cost to taxpayers. The Civic Federation said the lack of financial oversight and responsible budgeting during development cost the City of Chicago much more than projected, and likely more than was necessary to build the park.
The Civic Federation supports the City Colleges tentative FY2015 budget totaling $723.5 million for reflecting the District’s continued commitment to sound financial practices and prudent planning. The FY2015 tentative budget holds the property tax levy relatively flat for the fifth consecutive year, increases unrestricted operating funds by only 1.0% from FY2014 and continues to maintain a…
District continues dramatic improvement of its financial practices, planning In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation supports the City Colleges of Chicago’s proposed FY2015 budget of $723.5 million which reflects the District’s continued commitment to sound financial practices and prudent planning. The full 47-page report is available here. “We have seen a dramatic improvement in…
This article covers Chicago Public Schools’ July 2 budget announcement, which includes a plan to count 30 days of FY2016 revenue toward the FY2015 budget to help fill a projected FY2015 deficit nearing $1 billion. The Civic Federation said this one-time revenue adjustment will do nothing to improve the District’s long-term finances, but also recognized that the District’s options are limited…
This article discusses the budget plan announced by Chicago Public Schools July 2 that includes extending the period in which the District will collect property tax revenue by an additional 30 days to August. The Civic Federation said it is a risky one-time fix that relies on Cook County issuing property tax bills on-time, and does nothing to help the District face next year’s projected $1…
On June 26, 2014, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle issued a preliminary budget forecast for fiscal year 2015, which begins on December 1, 2014. The report also provides estimated year-end results for FY2014. A public hearing on the preliminary FY2015 budget will be held on July 16, 2014. Board President Preckwinkle plans to present her final budget proposal for FY2015 in…
Despite criticizing the General Assembly for not passing an adequate budget for the new fiscal year, Governor Pat Quinn signed the legislature's appropriations bills into law on June 30, 2014, the last day before the start of FY2015. The Governor vetoed $250 million from the capital budget, but the change will not affect the State’s operating expenditures. As discussed here, the FY2015 General…
Under Illinois law, the State is required to share a certain portion of state income tax receipts with municipal and county governments in Illinois through the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). The state revenue shared with local governments is a legislatively required transfer from the General Fund to the Local Government Distributive Fund. The Illinois Comptroller then…
