The City of Chicago currently has the lowest rated credit of any major city in the country according to Moody’s Investors Service. At Baa1, the long-term bond rating is still several levels above falling out of investment grade, but the City is at risk of having to pay large liabilities if it is downgraded again. According to an investigative report published by the Chicago Sun-Times, many…
This article discusses interest rate swaps made by Chicago that require the City to maintain a credit rating of at least Baa1, or financial institutions can terminate deals and demand payment. Chicago’s credit rating sits at Baa1 after a series of downgrades in the past year. The Civic Federation said the swaps were entered into at a time when it seemed unlikely the City’s credit rating could…
In this clip Civic Federation President Laurence Msall discusses the FY2015 Budget passed by Illinois legislators May 30. The budget does not provide funding for a full fiscal year, and relies on borrowing and shifting revenue from FY2014 to cover operations expenses. The State’s backlog of unpaid bills, which has dropped to $5.4 billion from $8.8 billion in FY2012, is expected to increase under…
Although Governor Pat Quinn originally proposed a capital budget for FY2015 with no new debt-funded projects, the General Assembly approved an additional measure that added $1.1 billion in new road projects that will be funded through the sale of long-term capital bonds. As previously discussed here, the Governor’s recommended FY2015 capital budget included $19.5 billion in total spending, of…
Cook County is a home rule government with three primary responsibilities: collecting tax and fee revenue, protecting public health through the administration of a public health and hospital system and ensuring public safety and justice through the operation of a jail and court system. The main divisions of the public safety system in Cook County include the Chief Judge, Clerk of the…
A week after the Illinois General Assembly ended its spring session, legislative leaders circulated new information about the FY2015 spending plan approved by lawmakers. General Funds spending in the legislature’s budget totals $35.8 billion, according to a budget overview issued by Senator Heather Steans, who chairs one of Senate’s two appropriations committees. That total is $400 million…
This article discusses Illinois’ FY2015 budget approved by State Legislators last week, which fails to provide adequate funding for a full year despite borrowing for operations and shifting revenue from FY2014. The Civic Federation said the budget is an example of the same fiscal irresponsibility that led to the State’s backlog of unpaid bills and dismal credit ratings.
UPDATE: Illinois General Assembly Passes FY2015 Budget On May 30, 2014, a day before the end of the Illinois General Assembly’s regular spring session, the Senate passed the FY2015 budget previously approved by the House. As discussed below, the budget does not cut spending or extend existing income tax rates that are scheduled to be rolled back midway through FY2015. It relies instead on …
The capital budget proposed by Governor Pat Quinn for FY2015 represents the sixth year of the Illinois Jobs Now! capital spending program and the first year since its inception that new bond-funded projects are not included in the recommendation. The capital budget includes $2.9 billion in new appropriations that are funded on a pay-as-you-go basis and reauthorization of $16.5 billion in…
This article covers the analysis of Governor Quinn’s FY2015 Recommended Budget released today by the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation. The Civic Federation opposes the budget because it uses revenue from extending the 2011 temporary income tax increase for new spending, rather than reducing the State’s backlog of unpaid bills.
