This article discusses some of the actions made by the State of Illinois General Assembly during the spring legislative session. The article cites Civic Federation data that showed debt dedicated to the State's pension system has exceeded capital debt.
This article discusses increases to health insurance premiums paid by City of Chicago retirees. The Civic Federation says that the City should create a retiree healthcare trust fund.
After several significant budget related initiatives failed to advance out of the General Assembly, such as proposed pension reforms and borrowing to pay down the State’s backlog of unpaid bills, the legislature passed an operating budget for FY2012 in the final hours of its regular session late on May 31, 2011. The budget passed by both chambers and sent to Governor Pat Quinn totals $33.2…
This article discusses State of Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford’s resistance to proposals by State lawmakers to borrow to pay the State’s backlog of unpaid bills. The Civic Federation says that borrowing won’t ease the backlog and will impinge on future school and healthcare spending.
This article examines the various disagreements over plans of how, and if, to borrow to pay off the State of Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills. The Civic Federation says that borrowing will worsen the State’s fiscal outlook.
Surprising as it may seem, not all budget cuts reduce spending. A case in point is the FY2012 Medicaid budget passed by the Illinois House on May 13, 2011. House Bill 3717 includes $6.9 billion of General Funds appropriations for the State of Illinois’ Medical Assistance Program.[1] As indicated in the chart below, the House budget is $537.3 million below Governor Pat Quinn’s proposed FY2012…
As explained previously in this blog a key indicator the Civic Federation uses to assess the financial health of local governments is the level of unreserved general fund balance maintained. Such reserves are essential in order for the governments to be able to withstand the inevitable “rainy days” that result from revenue fluctuations and unexpected expenditures. Without a fund balance in place…
In this article about the first budget cuts City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has made to help restore solvency to the City’s finances, the Civic Federation says that the cuts are a good first step, but deeper reductions must be made to fill the City’s budget deficit.
This editorial about the fiscal condition of the State of Illinois cites the Civic Federation’s analysis of the State’s FY2012 proposed budget.
This article discusses how City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel may confront the City’s major budget issues. The Civic Federation explains that the problems were exacerbated by a long-standing unwillingness to reduce spending. The Federation also suggests that the City will need to reduce personnel levels to help fill its budget deficit.
