Less than a month into the new fiscal year, which began on July 1, Standard and Poor’s announced that the financial outlook for the State has deteriorated from “developing” to “negative.” The rating agency directly blamed the FY2015 budget approved by the Governor and General Assembly for the change in perspective. An analyst from S&P stated that the budget was not structurally balanced, which would cause liquidity pressures for the State and that there was concern over the implementation…
This column discusses the Civic Federation’s analysis of the FY2015 Chicago Public Schools budget. The Civic Federation could not support the budget because it does nothing to address the District’s fiscal crisis and is balanced only by an accounting maneuver that books more than 12 months of revenue into a single fiscal year.
This article looks at the Chicago Public Schools FY2015 budget in advance of the Board of Education’s July 23 budget hearing. It discusses the Civic Federation’s analysis of the budget, which says the use of one-time and non-recurring revenues indicates the District is not addressing its structural deficit.
This article discusses Chicago Public School’s FY2015 budget, which the Board of Education is expected to approve at a July 23 hearing. The Civic Federation’s recent analysis of the budget shows CPS is continuing to operate with a significant structural deficit by relying heavily on reserve funds and using accounting gimmicks to close ongoing budget gaps.
In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation announced that it cannot support the Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) short-sighted FY2015 budget because it does nothing to address the District’s grave fiscal crisis. The proposed $6.8 billion budget is balanced only by an accounting maneuver that allows the District to book more than 12 months of revenue into a single fiscal year. The Civic Federation’s full 83-page analysis is available here. “This is yet another misguided budget that fails…
The Civic Federation does not support Chicago Public Schools proposed $6.8 billion budget for FY2015. The short-sighted budget does nothing to address the District’s grave fiscal crisis and is balanced only by an accounting maneuver that allows the District to book more than 12 months of revenue into a single fiscal year. This one-time and non-recurring revenue will leave a gap in future budgets, contributing to deficits of over $1.0 billion in FY2016 and FY2017. CPS blames the State of…
This article details a decade of leases, deals and debts related to Millennium Park—a park originally envisioned as a $150 million open green space that would be no cost to taxpayers. The Civic Federation said the lack of financial oversight and responsible budgeting during development cost the City of Chicago much more than projected, and likely more than was necessary to build the park.
The Civic Federation supports the City Colleges tentative FY2015 budget totaling $723.5 million for reflecting the District’s continued commitment to sound financial practices and prudent planning. The FY2015 tentative budget holds the property tax levy relatively flat for the fifth consecutive year, increases unrestricted operating funds by only 1.0% from FY2014 and continues to maintain a healthy fund balance for contingencies. City Colleges’ dramatic financial improvement in…
District continues dramatic improvement of its financial practices, planning In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation supports the City Colleges of Chicago’s proposed FY2015 budget of $723.5 million which reflects the District’s continued commitment to sound financial practices and prudent planning. The full 47-page report is available here. “We have seen a dramatic improvement in City Colleges’ finances under the leadership of Chancellor Cheryl Hyman and her team,” said Civic…
This article covers Chicago Public Schools’ July 2 budget announcement, which includes a plan to count 30 days of FY2016 revenue toward the FY2015 budget to help fill a projected FY2015 deficit nearing $1 billion. The Civic Federation said this one-time revenue adjustment will do nothing to improve the District’s long-term finances, but also recognized that the District’s options are limited without pension reform.
