The Civic Federation announced today that it opposes the $6.2 billion FY2011 City of Chicago budget because it does not do enough to address the City’s structural deficit. Instead it relies upon long-term asset lease funds and other non-recurring revenues to close a $654.8 million shortfall. The Federation urges the City Council to reduce spending to avoid further deterioration of the City’s financial condition. The full 80-plus page analysis of the budget is available at www.civicfed.org. The…
This segment of the “Chicago Tonight” news program features a roundtable discussion with the three candidates for Cook County Board President. The candidates discuss recommendations made by the Civic Federation’s Cook County Modernization Report.
The purpose of the Cook County Modernization Report is to provide leaders of the County with ideas for reshaping and refining County government that will improve service delivery to residents while reducing wasteful spending and decreasing reliance on taxpayer funds. The Modernization Project provides a roadmap for creating a government that is more efficient, less costly and more accountable. The report contains actionable recommendations that can be implemented in the first 100 days after the…
Last week the Civic Federation blogged about the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s reaction to its estimated $24 million budget deficit. Specifically, we outlined Executive Director Richard Lanyon’s proposals to reduce this deficit, in part, by making changes to employee and retiree health benefits. Mr. Lanyon presented his cost-cutting plan to the Board and public at an August 12, 2010 study session. His suggestions were drafted after staff presented a report of the…
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District recently announced that it is facing a $24 million budget deficit for FY2011. After hearing a report of the FY2011 budget and the grim financial projection at a study session meeting held on July 8, 2010, MWRD Commissioners requested a list of possible cost-cutting measures. MWRD Executive Director Richard Lanyon provided a preliminary report focusing on areas of potential cost-savings to the District during a subsequent study session on…
Last week the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners held a public study session meeting to discuss its upcoming FY2011 budget and projections for what the financial year may hold. The picture staff painted was grim, with increasing expenses for the District while revenue projections remain flat. The District is projecting that health care expenses will rise by 12% or $6 million in FY2011 and noted that since FY2006 employee health insurance expenses have increased by…
As the General Assembly nears the final days of this year’s regular session with no FY2011 budget in sight, a group of lawmakers is attempting to advance the negotiations by proposing a $1.3 billion package of spending reductions and savings. The proposal by ten Democrats on May 24, 2010 represented an uncommon effort by Illinois lawmakers to suggest significant and broad-based reductions in the State of Illinois’ budget. In contrast, the cuts contained in Governor Pat Quinn’s recommended…
Governor Pat Quinn and his Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) appear to have different estimates of how much the State would save under the Governor’s proposal to require all state retirees to pay a share of their health insurance premiums. In announcing the Governor’s recommended FY2011 budget, his staff said that the State would save about $255 million by limiting the State’s share of each retiree’s premiums to $300 a month. Under Illinois law, the State currently pays all…
In response to opposition from state lawmakers, Governor Pat Quinn’s administration has scrapped a proposal to reduce state costs by $254.5 million in FY2011 by requiring all retirees to contribute to their health insurance premiums. Instead, state officials are considering alternatives that call for less drastic increases in retiree payments. As previously discussed in this blog, the State currently pays the entire bill for health insurance premiums for 90% of retired state workers. Under…
The Civic Federation opposes Governor Pat Quinn’s $52 billion FY2011 recommended operating budget for the State of Illinois because it is unbalanced and does too little to address the State’s fiscal crisis. The Governor’s recommended budget borrows billions to pay for operations while continuing to ignore the massive backlog of unpaid bills, which will make the State’s financial condition worse. Although the Civic Federation is encouraged that Governor Quinn has signed significant pension…
