This article reviews Mayor Emanuel’s first term in office prior to Chicago’s upcoming municipal election. The Civic Federation said the Emanuel administration has made significant strides in improving the City’s financial position including reducing the structural budget deficit by more than half.
This editorial discusses Governor Rauner’s budget recommendation for fiscal year 2016, which relies on program reductions and a pension reform proposal to address a $6.2 billion budget gap. The editorial cites the Civic Federation’s FY2016 State of Illinois Budget Roadmap, which recommends new revenue sources paired with spending controls to stabilize the State’s fiscal crisis.
The article covers the main points of Governor Rauner’s fiscal year 2016 budget recommendation, which includes significant program cuts and expanded pension reforms. The Civic Federation said the proposed budget is a starting point for discussion on how to tackle Illinois’ $6.2 billion budget gap.
The State of Illinois reduces its operating resources by more than 25% annually to provide individuals and businesses tax benefits through exemptions also known as tax expenditures. In FY2013, the most recent year that data have been reported on tax expenditures, the exemptions in Illinois totaled $8.4 billion, which would have increased State-source General Funds revenues of $31.9 billion by 26.2%. The two largest exemptions are the exclusion of all federally taxable retirement income from…
This article reviews the Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation’s FY2016 State Budget Roadmap, an annual report released prior to the Governor’s budget address. The recommendations in the comprehensive 5-year plan would immediately stabilize the State’s operating budget, establish a sustainable long-term financial plan and pay off the State’s $6.4 billion backlog of unpaid bills.
This article discusses recommendations made in the FY2016 State Budget Roadmap, an annual report released by the Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation prior to the Governor’s budget address. The 5-year plan includes tapping into new revenue sources that will stabilize the State’s budget while protecting essential government services.
In a report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability proposes a comprehensive five-year plan that responds to the dire reality of Illinois’ financial condition with painful, but necessary recommendations. The plan immediately stabilizes the State’s operating budget and establishes a sustainable long-term financial plan that would pay off Illinois’ unpaid bill backlog of approximately $6.4 billion. The full 56-page report is available here. Nearly…
Prior to the release of the Governor’s annual budget recommendation, the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation releases an analysis of the State of Illinois’ fiscal condition and proposes a comprehensive five-year plan for achieving long-term fiscal sustainability for the State of Illinois. This plan responds to the dire reality of Illinois’ financial condition with painful, but necessary recommendations. Nearly five years after the official end of the national…
This article discusses a proposal by Governor Bruce Rauner to allow cities, towns and counties in Illinois to file for bankruptcy protection. The Civic Federation’s 2015 Legislative Priorities encourage the Illinois General Assembly to create an Illinois Municipal Protection Authority as an alternative to bankruptcy to assist local governments in finding creative, voluntary solutions to their financial problems.
A 2009 GFOA white paper identified long-term financial planning as the central tool for local governments to become financially resilient. Financial resiliency is characterized by going beyond just financial sustainability to a system that is adaptive and able to sustain external shocks such as an economic downturn.[1] Credit rating agencies have also recognized the importance of long-term financial planning. As such, the Civic Federation frequently recommends in its budget analyses that local…
