On June 15, 2010 the Chicago Board of Education approved measures to cope with the school district’s estimated $600 million deficit for the coming school year. The measures include authorizing the establishment of an $800 million line of credit to cover delayed state payments and authorizing CEO Ron Huberman to increase class sizes to 35 students if necessary. Could Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district revenues held by the City of Chicago be used to reduce the deficit and prevent…
The Civic Federation supports the Illinois General Assembly’s first steps toward comprehensive public pension reform in Illinois and urges state leaders to implement further reforms. On Wednesday, March 24, 2010, the Illinois General Assembly took the first important steps toward comprehensive public pension reform in Illinois by approving Senate Bill 1946 as amended by the Illinois House. The bill now awaits approval by Governor Quinn. While the reforms contained in the legislation do not…
The Civic Federation supports the Illinois General Assembly’s first steps toward comprehensive public pension reform in Illinois and urges state leaders to implement further reforms. On Wednesday, March 24, 2010, the Illinois General Assembly took the first important steps toward comprehensive public pension reform in Illinois by approving Senate Bill 1946 as amended by the Illinois House. The bill now awaits approval by Governor Quinn. While the reforms contained in the legislation do not…
All ten Chicago-area local government pension funds analyzed annually by the Civic Federation had negative investment returns in fiscal year 2008 for a total investment loss of $7.1 billion.[1] The average FY2008 rate of return for the eight funds with a January 1 to December 31 fiscal year was -25.3%, down from +8.1% the previous year. Rates of return ranged from -14.8% to -33.3% in FY2008, with returns for the Chicago Fire fund being the lowest. The Park District fund and the Chicago Teachers…
The total unfunded liabilities of the ten major Chicago-area public pension funds reached $18.5 billion in fiscal year 2008. That is an increase of over $15.1 billion dollars in ten years, up from $3.4 billion in fiscal year 1999. To put $18.5 billion in perspective, it is $5,821 of unfunded pension liabilities per Chicago resident. The debt grows to $10,037 per person when you add the State pension funds. The unfunded liability for the four City of Chicago pension funds alone is $…
As reported in the Civic Federation’s latest report on ten local government pension funds, the most recent audited financial statements of the Chicago firefighters’ pension fund showed a market value funded ratio of only 27.2%. The Chicago police fund was close behind at only 34.7%. What do these numbers mean? Funded ratio is the most basic indicator of pension fund status. It is the ratio of assets to liabilities and can be expressed using either the current market value of assets or…
This report analyzes basic financial data on ten major local government employee pension funds in Cook County. It is intended to provide lawmakers, pension trustees, pension fund members and taxpayers with the information they need to make informed decisions regarding public employee retirement benefits. The report reviews fiscal year 2008 actuarial valuation reports and financial statements of the retirement plans for the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools, Cook…
When the Chicago City Council approved the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Sunshine Amendment in April of 2009 that called for the creation of a consolidated and enhanced TIF information website, the City took a significant step towards improving the transparency of its TIF districts. Although the creation of the website improved the accessibility of some TIF information, the Civic Federation recognized that further additions and improvements could help with the City’s TIF transparency efforts.…
Click here to read the Civic Federation’s February 2014 updated list of selected consumer taxes in the City of Chicago. In December of 2009, the Civic Federation released an update of its issue brief on Selected Consumer Taxes in the City of Chicago. The document includes descriptions of selected consumer taxes, recent changes in tax rates and explanations of how revenue from these taxes is distributed among local governments in Chicago. The report highlights changes in taxation that occurred…
As the Civic Federation composes its forthcoming Status of Local Pensions Report, we have pensions on our minds. Here’s a quick round up of what’s happening with local pension funds in Chicago and across the State of Illinois, including status updates on commissions, results of pension obligation bonding and cost estimates of legislated benefit increases. City of Chicago In January of 2008 the City of Chicago convened a task force to address its pension funding problems. The City of Chicago…
