The following posts were among the most highly read on the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability’s blog in 2013 and represent some of the most closely followed Illinois fiscal issues this year: Analysis of Pension Reform Proposal Shows Significant State Savings January 3, 2013 This blog examines a pension reform proposal introduced in the Illinois General Assembly late in 2012 by a…
Last week the Civic Federation marked the end of the FY2014 budget season with a blog that summarized the proposed budgets for the eight local governments the Federation monitors. These governments include the City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the City of Chicago, Cook County, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, the…
Last week marked the end of the FY2014 budget season for the eight local governments monitored by the Civic Federation. These governments are the City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the City of Chicago, Cook County, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) and…
The Civic Federation supports the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s tentative budget of $1.2 billion for its responsible pension practices and transparent long-term planning. The District is prudently basing its pension contribution this year on the actuarial needs of the fund, rather than blindly following statutory requirements. The District’s responsible pension fund stewardship is…
In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation supports the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s (MWRD) FY2014 Tentative Budget of $1.2 billion for its responsible pension practices and transparent long-term planning. The full 50-page report is available at www.civicfed.org. “The District is prudently basing its pension contribution this year on the actuarial needs of the fund, rather…
This article discusses the significant challenges City of Chicago pension funds still face after Illinois legislators passed pension reform legislation on December 3 that applies only to the State of Illinois pension funds. The Civic Federation said State policies have led to the severe underfunding of Chicago-area pension funds, and the City must continue to petition State legislators for…
In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation announced its support for the Chicago Park District’s proposed FY2014 budget of $425.6 million which continues the District’s multi-year effort to reduce its structural deficit. The proposal leaves the District well-positioned to implement the comprehensive pension reforms passed by the Illinois General Assembly in November 2013 and now awaiting…
The Civic Federation supports the $425.6 million Chicago Park District budget for continuing the District’s multi-year effort to reduce its structural deficit. The proposal includes a broad-based property tax increase after eight years of relatively flat levies for the District. It also leaves the District well-positioned to implement the comprehensive pension reforms passed by the Illinois…
(The full text of this article is only available to the publication’s subscribers.) This article covers the City Council’s November 26 vote to approve the FY2014 City of Chicago Budget. The Civic Federation’s analysis supports the budget as a short-term plan, but warns that the fiscal progress made in recent years will be undone next year when the City faces a $590 million pension contribution…
A provision of the General Obligation Bond Act in Illinois requires the State to structure its bonds so that equal amounts of the funds borrowed are repaid in each year of the loan. This structure, called level principal, benefits the State’s long-term debt profile by reducing the overall cost of borrowing and protects future borrowing capacity by ensuring annual debt service payments will…
