An Illinois Supreme Court decision overturning legislation to reduce the State’s massive pension costs will add to the difficulty of creating a balanced operating budget for the year that begins on July 1, 2015. The high court struck down the law on May 8, ruling that it violated the Illinois Constitution by cutting benefits for retirees and employees. The 2013 legislation reduced annual benefit increases, raised retirement ages for younger workers and capped the salary on which pension…
Urges General Assembly to Identify Alternate Plan for Closing $6.2 Billion Budget Gap In a new report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability opposes Governor Rauner’s recommended budget for FY2016 because it relies heavily on projected savings that do not appear to be achievable or prudent in light of the State of Illinois’ obligations and long-term policy objectives. The Institute’s full 78-page report is available here. The Governor’s…
The Civic Federation opposes Governor Bruce Rauner’s recommended budget for FY2016 because it relies heavily on projected savings that do not appear to be achievable or prudent in light of the State of Illinois’ obligations and long-term policy objectives. Savings of $2.2 billion related to a new pension reform proposal are assumed to be realized in the budget, even though this proposal has not been introduced as legislation in the Illinois General Assembly and is likely to face legal…
On May 1, 2015, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) released their proposed FY2016 capital budget and an updated Five-Year capital improvement plan for FY2016-FY2020. The exhibit below shows the amounts proposed by CPS for FY2016-FY2020 for capital spending. In those five years, a total of approximately $536.8 million has been forecast for projects. This is nearly a 57% decrease from the FY2015-FY2019 capital improvement plan forecast for projects that was expected to total nearly $1.2 billion in…
This segment discusses a fiscal roadmap for reform announced by Mayor Emanuel to the Board of Directors of the Civic Federation on April 29. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall said the City will require more revenue to achieve the goals the Mayor outlined in his four-year plan.
This article covers an announcement by Mayor Emanuel on April 29 that outlined steps the city will take in the next four years to address Chicago’s biggest financial challenges. These steps include ending the use of "scoop and toss" refunding bonds, eliminating derivative instruments known as swaps and rebuilding the City’s rainy day fund. The Civic Federation said these positive steps will reduce risk exposure for Chicago taxpayers, but will create additional…
This panel discussion focuses on the State of Illinois’ nearly 800 funds, many of which do not receive the same level of scrutiny as the general funds portion of the budget. The special funds gained attention when Governor Rauner and the Illinois General Assembly recently agreed to sweep $1.3 billion from the funds to close a budget gap. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall said there is no financial reason to have so many separate funds.
To help cope with a massive budget deficit as State resources continue to fall in the coming fiscal year, Governor Bruce Rauner has proposed reducing or ending some statutorily required transfers that provide funding for programs and government services outside the General Funds budget. Total transfers out of the General Funds, excluding amounts set aside to pay for debt service, are reduced by $816 million in the Governor’s recommended FY2016 budget to $1.6 billion compared to $2.4 billion in…
The article looks at Governor Bruce Rauner’s first 100 days in office. On the State budget, the Civic Federation said most of the first 100 days has been spent addressing shortfalls in the current FY2015 budget rather than discussion on the $6 billion gap in the upcoming FY2016 budget.
This article examines the options available to Chicago Public Schools as it faces a $1 billion budget shortfall next year with little to no reserve funds. As discussed in the article, the Civic Federation does not support allowing municipalities direct access to bankruptcy. Instead, the Civic Federation’s Pension Committee has proposed the creation of a Local Government Protection Authority, an intervening mechanism that could advise financially distressed local governments and ensure all other…
