This article covers the release of the Civic Federation’s FY2014 Chicago Public Schools Budget Analysis. The Civic Federation did not support the budget, which completely draws down unrestricted reserve funds and uses some restricted reserves to close a $977 million budget deficit. The Federation said the District’s long-term fiscal health remains in jeopardy absent pension reform.
This article discusses key findings from the Civic Federation’s FY2014 Chicago Public Schools Budget Analysis. The District’s financial situation continues to deteriorate while legislators delay action on pension reform, with this year’s budget relying on reserve funding to close a $997 million deficit. The Civic Federation urges the District to develop its own pension reform plan tied to a long-term financial plan.
UPDATE: On August 23, 2013, the preliminary FY2014 budget of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System was unanimously approved by the Health System's Board of Directors. The Cook County Board is expected to vote on the plan in October. The Health System's preliminary budget will then be included in the County Board President's overall budget proposal for FY2014. Original blog published on August 22, 2013: Cook County’s public health system would receive a smaller subsidy from County…
At the end of the month, the Board of Education for Chicago Public Schools will vote on the District’s $5.6 billion operating budget for FY2014. The total budget of $6.6 billion is supported by local, state and federal revenues and other resources, including $761.6 million of appropriated fund balance. This blog focuses on the State of Illinois’ resources for CPS. The State of Illinois will provide a total of $1.8 billion of revenues in the CPS FY2014 budget, which is a slight decrease of $8.2…
The Civic Federation does not support the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) proposed $6.6 billion operating budget for FY2014, which completely draws down unrestricted reserve funds and uses some restricted reserves to close a $977 million budget deficit. Even after the pain of layoffs and school closings, the District’s long-term fiscal health remains in jeopardy absent pension reform. The Federation acknowledges that the District’s budgetary options are severely constrained by the Illinois…
(CHICAGO) In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation withholds support for the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) proposed $6.6 billion budget for FY2014, which closes a $977 million budget deficit with a complete drawdown of unrestricted reserve funds, as well as use of some restricted reserve funds. Even after the pain of layoffs and school closings, the District’s long-term fiscal health remains in jeopardy absent pension reform. The full 83-page analysis is available at www.civicfed.org…
On June 27, 2013, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle released a report on preliminary budget estimates for fiscal year 2014, which begins on December 1, 2013 and ends November 30, 2014. The report provides an overview of mid-year FY2013 revenues and expenditures, expected year-end estimates for FY2013 and projected revenues and expenditures for FY2014. The Civic Federation previously blogged about overall revenue and expenditure estimates for FY2013 and FY2014. This blog will take a…
The scheduled rollout of Medicaid managed care in Illinois has been delayed by six months so hospitals can set up their own healthcare networks for Medicaid patients. The new networks, known as Accountable Care Entities (ACEs), are intended to cover children and families. The State’s Medicaid agency, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), originally intended to enroll those recipients in managed care beginning in January 2014, but the date has been pushed back to July…
Last week the City of Chicago released its Annual Financial Analysis for 2013. According to an executive order issued by Mayor Emanuel on May 20, 2011, the Office of Budget and Management is mandated to produce a financial analysis of the City budget by July 31st of each year. The report includes year-end estimates for the current fiscal year (which ends on December 31) and revenue and expenditure estimates for FY2014. For more information on what is included in the annual reports, see the…
This article covers the July 31 release of the City of Chicago’s annual financial analysis, which projects a $1 billion deficit in 2015 if the City’s pension funds aren’t stabilized by major reforms. The Civic Federation said it would be very difficult to cover such a large deficit without tax increases and severe cuts to city services.
