Recent decisions by two of the largest State of Illinois retirement systems are expected to result in significant increases to statutorily required pension contributions in the upcoming budget year. This blog post discusses the decisions and their potential impact on the State budget. Changes in Actuarial Assumptions The Boards of Trustees of the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) and the State…
In 2012 the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued new accounting and financial reporting standards for public pension plans and for governments, Statements 67 and 68. According to GASB, the new standards were intended to “improve the way state and local governments report their pension liabilities and expenses, resulting in a more faithful representation of the full impact of…
The Chicago Board of Education approved a reinstated dedicated pension levy as part of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) FY2017 budget on August 24, 2016. The levy will allow the District to bring in $250.0 million in new revenue in FY2017. This additional property tax revenue will be used to fund the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund. Since CPS is subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation…
This article reports on the amount in tax increases that the City of Chicago will need to stabilize the City’s major government pension plans. Laurence Msall, President of the Civic Federation, says the tax hikes are reasonable and better than no action but also notes that it remains to be seen whether they will be enough.
This article reports on the City of Chicago’s potential plan to save the Municipal Employees Pension fund through raising utility taxes. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall remarks that there are very few, if any, sources of revenue that could generate the amount of money needed to fund the City’s largest pension fund at an actuarially determined level.
This article discusses a plan to provide $20 million in property tax rebates to City of Chicago homeowners. Laurence Msall, President of the Civic Federation, notes that the program is likely to have a very modest impact to Chicago taxpayers.
After a yearlong stalemate, the State of Illinois finally saw a crack in its ongoing budget impasse on the last day of the fiscal year. The General Assembly rushed approval of bills authorizing a full year of preschool through high school education funding, including additional assistance for the Chicago Public Schools, along with a partial spending plan for other government services to cover…
This article discusses Chicago Public School’s ongoing financial and pension issues. Laurence Msall, President of the Civic Federation, attributes the school district’s financial difficulties in part to the absence of a balanced State budget and the inequitable funding of Chicago Public School’s pensions.
This article discusses a recent Chicago conference that featured expert panelists who discussed solutions to the City’s biggest challenges. As a panelist, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall gave his insight on the City of Chicago’s fiscal issues, urged Illinois officials to put an end to the States’ budget impasse and discussed the corrosive effects the impasse has had on Chicago.
This article discusses the high interest rate that the City of Chicago recently paid for $220 million in short-term funding. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall calls the interest costs an unfortunate and avoidable expense, noting that the money could have been used for City services or other important investments.
