The Chicago Board of Education adopted an amended budget for the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) 2020 fiscal year on November 20, 2019 to account for changes reflected in the collective bargaining agreements reached between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for FY2020 through FY2024. The CPS fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. The CPS FY2020 operating budget approved in August totaled $6.18 billion. New…
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has historically received a reduced fare reimbursement, or subsidy, from the State of Illinois for providing free and discounted rides to eligible riders including seniors, people with disabilities, military and students. The CTA provides nearly 100 million free and reduced-fare trips annually, which amounts to more than $100 million in foregone revenue.[1] The reduced fare subsidy is a partial reimbursement from the State of Illinois for the discounted…
(CHICAGO) – In a report released today, the Civic Federation announced its support for the City of Chicago’s proposed $9.9 billion FY2020 budget but still has several significant reservations. The full analysis is available here. Entering FY2020 Mayor Lightfoot faced a historic $838.2 million Corporate Fund budget deficit driven largely by a huge increase in pension contributions to the Police and Fire funds as well as unresolved collective bargaining agreements. To close the deficit, the…
Click here to read the full report. Click here to read the press release for this analysis. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Civic Federation supports Mayor Lightfoot’s proposed FY2020 local funds budget of approximately $9.9 billion, but with several significant concerns. Entering FY2020 Mayor Lightfoot faced a historic $838.2 million Corporate Fund budget deficit driven largely by a $281.2 million increase to the City’s statutory contribution to the police and fire pension funds. The deficit is also…
2020 Civic Federation Legislative Priorities The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2020 include public employee pension reforms, consolidation of local government units in Illinois, enacting policies to rationalize the property tax system, creation of a Local Government Protection Authority, requiring the State of Illinois to build a rainy day fund, development and implementation of a capital improvement plan and…
(CHICAGO) -- In a report released today, the Civic Federation announced support for Cook County’s proposed FY2020 budget. The $6.18 billion budget proposal is a reasonable budget plan that holds the line on increasing taxes or fees while continuing to make investments in communities and services. The full report is available here. “This prudent one-year plan should be viewed as a calm-before-the-storm budget,” said Civic Federation Laurence Msall. “While the projected structural deficit in…
Click here to read the full report. Click here to read the press release for this analysis. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Civic Federation supports the Cook County FY2020 Executive Budget Recommendation of $6.18 billion because it presents a reasonable budget plan that holds the line on increasing taxes or fees while continuing to make investments in communities and services. Thanks to structural budget decisions and savings achieved over the years, Cook County is anticipating the smallest…
This article covered Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's budget address, in which she presented her recommendation for the City's FY2020 budget. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall said that the proposal was a "strong effort" to close a more than $800 million gap. However, Mr. Msall also raised concerns that a number of the Mayor's proposed gap closing measures rely on authorization from the Illinois General Assembly and Governor in Springfield. Related Coverage…
The City of Chicago recently released its Budget Forecast for FY2020, which provides financial estimates for the City’s fiscal year ending on December 31, 2019 and a forecast for the next fiscal year and following two years. This is the first forecast produced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration since she took office in May 2019. The Forecast was released shortly after the Mayor’s State of the City Address where she laid out the financial challenges facing the City and how she hopes to…
The Chicago Public Schools FY2020 Budget is an example of fund-based budgeting. Collected revenues are assigned to different funds intended to support various governmental functions. The interactive chart below is a Sankey diagram showing the flow of revenues through funds and to the District’s expenditures. A full analysis of the CPS FY2020 proposed budget can be found here. The data is provided by CPS’ interactive budget website, and some revenue and spending categories are grouped for…
