(CHICAGO) The Civic Federation released today a comparative analysis of the cost of the $9.6 billion in bonds the State of Illinois issued between September 2009 and July 2010. The report estimated that Illinois government may pay as much as $551.3 million extra for its borrowing as a consequence of its deteriorating bond rating. The full report is available at www.civicfed.org. “Due to Springfield’s failure to stabilize Illinois’ finances, Illinois residents will pay nearly 21% more for one…
This issue brief provides a comparative analysis of the cost of the $9.6 billion in bonds the State of Illinois issued between September 2009 and July 2010. The report estimates that Illinois government may pay as much as $551.3 million extra for its borrowing as a consequence of its deteriorating bond rating. The report found that the extra borrowing cost will continue to stress future budgets with increased debt service costs and a higher cost of government for the taxpayers of Illinois. Read…
In a discussion on the Fox Chicago Sunday news program about the City of Chicago’s budget shortfall, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall discusses the effect that privatization of some City services may have on closing the gap.
A recent report shows that nearly all the bond subsidies promised under the Build America Bond (BAB) program are being paid by the federal government to issuers applying for the credit without significant administrative delay. The BAB subsidy, equal to 35% of the interest cost of qualified municipal bonds, was pledged as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The program was aimed at providing state and local governments with low cost access to loans for capital projects…
This article explores findings in the Civic Federation’s analysis of Chicago Public Schools’ $6.5 billion FY2011 proposed budget. It notes the Federation’s opposition to the District’s plans to deplete its reserve funds and take a partial pension holiday to close a budget deficit.
In this news segment, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall explains the Civic Federation’s analysis of Chicago Public Schools’ FY2011 proposed budget.
This article discusses findings in the Civic Federation’s analysis of the Chicago Public Schools FY2011 proposed budget. The article mentions the Federation’s warnings about the future budget gap created by a partial pension holiday over the next three years granted to CPS by the State of Illinois.
This segment on the City Room news program discusses a Chicago Public Schools plan to restructure its debt instead of depleting its reserve fund in order to balance its budget as originally proposed. The segment mentions the Civic Federation’s analysis of the District’s FY2011 proposed budget, which opposed the emptying of the reserve fund.
This article is about a presentation by Civic Federation President Laurence Msall at St. Augustine College on August 19 about the State of Illinois’ budget troubles. Mr. Msall explained that comprehensive budget cuts and pension and tax reforms are necessary to improve the State’s fiscal outlook.
This article details the Chicago Board of Education’s adoption of a revised FY2011 budget that relies on the restructuring of debt to bridge a budget gap. The Civic Federation says it expressed concerns over the District’s original proposal to drain its reserve fund and rely on one-time revenue sources to balance the budget.
