A court ruling on health insurance for retired State of Illinois workers could put additional pressure on the State’s stopgap budget for the year that began on July 1, 2014. In a 6 to 1 decision on July 3, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that health insurance subsidies for State retirees are protected by the Illinois Constitution’s pension protection clause. The provision states that “[m]embership in any pension or retirement system of the State… shall be an enforceable contractual…
On June 26, 2014, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle issued a preliminary budget forecast for fiscal year 2015, which begins on December 1, 2014. The report also provides estimated year-end results for FY2014. A public hearing on the preliminary FY2015 budget will be held on July 16, 2014. Board President Preckwinkle plans to present her final budget proposal for FY2015 in October 2014. Preliminary FY2015 Budget Forecast The preliminary FY2015 budget forecast for the…
The following posts were among the most highly read on the Civic Federation blog in 2013 and represent some of the most closely followed local government issues this year: City Council’s Proposed Independent Budget Office, A Civic Federation Recommendation January 2, 2013 This blog details a proposal introduced in the Chicago City Council on December 12, 2012 to create an Office of Independent Budget Analysis responsible for vetting all financial legislation before the Council. The Civic…
The health insurance programs for the State of Illinois’ retired public school teachers outside of Chicago and downstate community college employees face mounting backlogs of unpaid claims as costs continue to outpace revenues, according to a recent report. The report, by the legislature’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, (COGFA) examines the financial condition of the Teachers’ Retirement Insurance Program (TRIP) and the College Insurance Program (CIP). As required by…
This article covers Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s announcement to phase out the City’s subsidy of retiree health care by 2017 and transition all the oldest retirees to coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The Civic Federation said the move is reasonable given the new coverage options available under the Affordable Care Act, but that the transition would need to be closely monitored by the Emanuel administration and the Chicago City Council to ensure seamless coverage for all City retirees.
This article discusses a contract agreement reached between the City of Chicago and the Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association. The agreement increases employee pension contributions and the retirement age while reducing automatic annual benefit increases and calling for 90 percent funding of the City’s public safety pension funds by 2040. The Civic Federation’s Status of Local Pension Funding report found that the Chicago Police pension fund was only 40 percent funded in FY2010.
Even though the Illinois General Assembly recently appropriated an additional six months of funding for State group health insurance, unpaid bills relating to the program are expected to increase by more than $200 million to $1.6 billion by the end of the current budget year. The legislature appropriated an additional $550 million in general operating funds for employee and retiree health insurance in FY2013 as part of a supplemental appropriations bill that was signed by Governor Pat Quinn on…
Since 1988 the City of Chicago and its four pension funds have been party to the settlement of City of Chicago v. Korshak regarding how much the City, the funds and annuitants pay for healthcare. The City pays for a portion of the retiree healthcare premiums and the pension funds subsidize part of the annuitant portion of the premium, with retirees paying the balance of the premium costs. The settlement agreement expires June 30, 2013. Before the settlement expires, the commission created by…
Throughout this year’s Illinois budget negotiations, the IIFS blog was a valuable source of information and focus in the State’s murky and complex budget process. This year’s negotiations included a groundbreaking effort to address the Medicaid funding gap, new pension reform proposals and yet another downgrade to the State’s credit rating. Budget Negotiations The Institute started the year with a report projecting an alarming increase in the State’s backlog of unpaid bills. The report was…
A look back at the Civic Federation’s blog this year provides a preview of upcoming fiscal challenges for local governments in 2013. Pension Funding The most urgent fiscal challenge for Illinois governments continues to be the pension funding crisis. The combined funded ratio for the four City of Chicago pension funds fell to 43.3% in FY2011. The funded status of the Cook County Pension Fund also fell in FY2011 to 57.5%. The County’s fund was over 90% funded as recently as FY2000. The…
