As Governor Pat Quinn searches for unaffordable programs to cut from the state budget, the fate of the troubled Howe Developmental Center in Tinley Park deserves close attention. Howe, a state-run facility for the developmentally disabled, was decertified by federal authorities in 2007 after reports of substandard care and safety violations, including deaths of residents in unexplained circumstances. As a result, it no longer receives federal funding under the Medicaid program. Since…
The Civic Federation's Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability wrote this issue brief about the Illinois Medicaid Program. The report provides an overview of Medicaid in Illinois and highlights areas where the program's cost efficiency might be improved. The report recommends that the General Assembly form a joint legislative and gubernatorial commission to launch a review of the future financing of the Illinois Medicaid program, especially with regard to the expiration of federal…
The Civic Federation's Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability produced this analysis of the proposed FY2010 Illinois operating and capital budgets. The Civic Federation does not support the proposed operating budget because it raises taxes without fixing the state's structural deficit. If significant pension and employee healthcare reforms are implemented, the Federation could support a smaller income tax increase targeted at reducing the state's existing obligations in the areas of…
The Civic Federation's Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability produced this guide for addressing the state's FY2010 budget. The roadmap provides an in-depth outline of best practices for a budget that would confront the state's growing fiscal crisis, including the areas of state spending, revenue, pensions, employee and retiree health insurance, Medicaid, capital, and asset sales.
This report reviews best practices in the composition of public pension boards of trustees nationwide, and makes recommendations on improvements to pension boards in Illinois.
The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2009 include public pension reform, the dissolving of the Illinois International Port District, creating a new governing board for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, requiring all counties to hold budget hearings, requiring large counties to produce timely annual audits, enacting tax increment financing reporting reform, requiring school financial management accountability reforms, and authorizing state and local government entities to…
This issue brief and position statement reviews President-Elect Obama and Congressional leaders' proposed federal stimulus package. The Civic Federation supports a federal infrastructure plan that aims to create jobs as a countercyclical economic measure to combat recessionary trends. We are concerned, however, that the State of Illinois is ill-equipped to participate in the process of securing the federal infrastructure funds.
The Civic Federation supports Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias' proposal to merge the investment functions of all five state-funded pension systems into a single fund managed by a new Illinois Public Employees' Retirement System (ILPERS). The Federation is pleased that financial training requirements and transparency measures have been included in the Treasurer's proposal.
The Civic Federation supports the CTA’s FY2009 budget of $1.3 billion as a responsible short-term plan to provide critical mass transit services to the Chicagoland population. The CTA’s proposed fare increases of 25 to 50 cents per ride, combined with personnel reductions, are a reasonable means of offsetting the mounting costs of the free ride programs mandated by Governor Blagojevich, decreased real estate transfer tax revenues and skyrocketing energy and fuel costs. The Federation is…
This issue brief reviews the status of the five pension funds of the State of Illinois. It discusses the State's historic underfunding of its pension funds, efforts to improve the funding situation (including pension obligation bonds), and various reform recommendations.
