An increase in the cigarette tax increase designed to provide additional funding for the Illinois Medicaid program generated more revenues than expected despite a drop in sales and hoarding of tax stamps prior to the effective date of the tax increase. As discussed here, the $1-per-pack increase was enacted as part of an overhaul of the Medicaid program that sought to eliminate a funding gap of $…
(The full content of this article is only available to the publication’s subscribers.) This article covers the Civic Federation’s analysis of the City Colleges FY2014 tentative budget. The Federation supports the budget for holding the property tax levy flat, reducing unrestricted operating expenses and planning for the phased-in shift of employee pension costs that has been proposed but not yet…
Charged with finding a solution to the State of Illinois’ pension crisis, a legislative conference committee is considering a reform framework proposed by public university presidents. The central feature of the university proposal is a compounded automatic annual benefit increase set at half of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Current Illinois retirees and employees…
This article summarizes the Civic Federation’s support for the City Colleges FY2014 tentative budget. The budget holds the property tax levy flat, reduces unrestricted operating expenses and prudently plans for the phased-in shift of employee pension costs that has been proposed but not yet enacted by the Illinois General Assembly.
The Civic Federation supports the City Colleges tentative FY2014 budget totaling $657.0 million for continuing the District’s exemplary work to improve its financial and operational health. The FY2014 proposed budget holds the property tax levy flat for the fourth consecutive year and reduces the unrestricted operating portion of the budget, the portion over which the District has the most…
Proposed budget holds property tax levy flat and prepares for State’s uncertain fiscal outlook (CHICAGO) In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation supports the City Colleges of Chicago’s proposed FY2014 budget of $657.0 million which continues the District’s exemplary work to improve its financial and operational health. The full 44-page report is available at www.civicfed.org. “Under…
Amidst a flurry of reports on the State of Illinois’ inability to solve its ongoing pension crisis and worst bond rating of all 50 states, a new study claims that the State’s $96.8 billion unfunded pension liability poses no risk of default to bondholders. The report, published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, compares Illinois’ current financial woes to the last state to…
On June 27, 2013, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle released a report on preliminary budget estimates for fiscal year 2014, which begins on December 1, 2013 and ends November 30, 2014. The report provides an overview of mid-year FY2013 revenues and expenditures, expected current year-end estimates for FY2013 and projected revenues and expenditures for the upcoming FY2014. The…
The FY2014 budget for the State of Illinois approved by the General Assembly has an operating deficit of $89 million, according to documents published in connection with an upcoming State bond sale. The legislature’s budget authorizes General Funds spending of $35.699 billion for the year that begins on July 1, 2013, the bond documents show. General Funds revenues are projected at $35.610 billion…
Despite increasing its revenue estimate on the final day of the regular legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly appears to have enacted a spending plan for FY2014 that exceeds the State’s expected resources. On May 31, 2013, the legislature increased its General Funds revenue estimate for FY2014 to $35.4 billion in a resolution passed by the House of Representatives (HR389). That was…
