The City of Chicago expects year-end general operating revenues to be 20.6% below budget by the end of the current 2020 fiscal year, according to the City’s FY2021 budget proposal. As described in a previous blog post, the City released a mid-year budget forecast at the end of August for the City’s Corporate Fund, which is the general operating fund. The budget forecast anticipated actual revenue in FY2020 to be $3.5 billion compared to the originally budgeted amount of $4.4 billion. This blog…
With the City of Chicago facing a $1.2 billion budget deficit heading into the next fiscal year and calls from community advocates for more funding for violence prevention and social services, the current situation begs the question of whether cuts can be made in the Police Department budget, and if so, where? The Chicago Police Department budget adopted for the current 2020 fiscal year totals $1.76 billion. The majority, $1.65 billion, is accounted for in the Corporate Fund, which is the City’…
The State of Illinois’ FY2020 fourth quarter revenue report contained a surprising result for two of the State of Illinois’ three main revenue sources, which came in higher than had been projected during the spring. Specifically, net sales tax revenue collections were $252 million higher than revised projections and net personal income tax projections were $372 million higher.[1] Given the ongoing economic dislocations related to the pandemic and restrictions on economic activity, this was a…
UPDATE: On September 21, the Cook County Health (CCH) Board approved by a vote of eight to three an amended FY2021 proposed budget with $40 million of additional County funding, instead of the $53 million in the September 11 version. That amounts to $10 million more than the $30 million increase originally approved by County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office, but it is less than the $23 million addition in the CCH Board’s September 11 budget proposal. President Preckwinkle’s office…
The General Assembly enacted an approximately $49.2 billion capital budget on May 24, 2020.[1] Spending proposed in the capital budget includes funding from the State, grants from the federal government and local matching funds. The multi-year capital budget was initially approved in 2019 as the Build Illinois capital plan; this action provides annual appropriation authority for capital project spending to proceed. Unlike the State’s annual General Funds budget, which is intended to cover only…
The City of Chicago recently released its Budget Forecast for FY2021, which provides financial estimates for the City’s current fiscal year that ends on December 31, 2020 and a forecast for the next fiscal year and following two years. This is the second forecast produced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration since she took office in May 2019. Under the previous mayoral administration, the City produced an Annual Financial Analysis that was required by executive order to be released by July…
In a recent analysis of the Chicago Public Schools FY2021 budget, the Civic Federation supported the District’s proposed $8.4 billion budget. However, the Federation expressed serious concerns about the budget’s reliance on $343 million in uncertain federal funding not yet approved by Congress and that several of the District’s revenue sources that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago Public Schools had reached more stable financial footing…
Click here to read the full report. Click here to read the press release for this analysis. SUMMARY Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago Public Schools had reached more stable financial footing than in previous years due to an influx in State-approved funding. Public Act 100-0456, passed in August 2017, instituted the new Evidence-Based Funding formula for statewide P-12 education funding, as well as additional funding for the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund normal cost and an increase to…
On August 12, 2020 the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) approved Ordinance 020-070 amending its FY2020 budget to incorporate $690.1 million of the CARES Act funding it received from the federal government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act funding will help offset the decline in system generated revenue and public funding.[1] This is the first time in nearly a decade that the CTA has had to amend its operating budget mid-year due to a drastic change in revenues.[2] The CTA…
As state and local governments continue to press Congress for more pandemic recovery funds, disputes are springing up across the country about the disbursement of federal aid that is currently available. A controversy in Illinois has centered on the use of federal relief funds that the State is distributing to counties and municipalities. Local governments in Illinois are eligible to receive a total of $250 million from the State’s share of the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund. The money can be…
