This segment covers the $634 million pension payment made in full by Chicago Public Schools on June 30, which put added pressure on District’s already precarious financial status. Civic Federation Vice President Sarah Wetmore said the District has difficult choices ahead and solutions will require shared sacrifice.
Two weeks after a judge gave final approval to a settlement agreement that would end several years of litigation and mediation over a 2011 public pension reform law, the Rhode Island General Assembly on June 23rd took the next required step by approving the settlement as part of the State’s $8.7 billion budget. The Rhode Island Superior Court judge in charge of the case said the settlement was…
This editorial discusses the $1.1 billion deficit Chicago Public Schools is facing and the decisions the District will need to make before the fall school year begins. It cites the Civic Federation’s FY2012 analysis of the CPS budget, which warned that the District would face enormous budget shortfalls in future years if it did not move quickly to implement a long-term financial plan.
This article covers the tough financial choices Chicago Public Schools is facing coming into the fall 2015 school year, including a $634 million pension payment. The Civic Federation discussed the District’s difficult options: severe budget cuts in order to make the payment, skipping the pension payment and violating the law, or seeking an emergency fix from the Illinois General Assembly.
In December 2010 the Illinois General Assembly passed and then Governor Quinn signed legislation (Public Act 96-1495) that created a new tier of pension benefits for public safety employees in Illinois hired on or after January 1, 2011, including Chicago police and firefighters. The legislation also significantly changed the City of Chicago’s employer contributions starting five years later in…
This article discusses Mayor Emanuel’s plan to tackle a sharp increase in required payments to the City’s pension funds next year, based on a 2010 law aimed at bringing the City’s Police and Fire pension funds back to 90 percent funded by 2040. The Civic Federation said the law’s 25-year funding plan was a political construct and not tied to any actuarial analysis.
This article discusses the Illinois Supreme Court ruling that found a 2013 State of Illinois law reducing pension benefits for State employees and retirees unconstitutional. The Civic Federation called the ruling a wake-up call and said the financial challenges the City of Chicago and State of Illinois are facing related to unfunded pensions will not be fixed without politically painful options.
This editorial followed the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling against the constitutionality of a 2013 law that would have amended State retirees’ pension benefits to begin reducing the State’s $111 billion in pension debt. The editorial cites Civic Federation recommendations from its FY2016 Recommended Budget Analysis and FY2016 State Budget Roadmap that would generate additional State revenue.
This article reviews the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling against changes to pension benefits for State retirees and discusses a separate proposal for $2.2 billion in pension savings included in Governor Rauner’s FY2016 proposed budget. It cites the recent FY2016 Recommended Budget Analysis released by the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation, which found the…
This article relates the Illinois Supreme Court’s May 8 pension ruling that upheld benefits for State retirees to similar pension challenges facing the City of Chicago. The Civic Federation said that both the City and Chicago Public Schools now face even greater pressure in addition to their worst-in-the-nation credit ratings.
