Federation praises supplemental pension payments, increase in Police Department civilian positions, but warns of budget’s structural imbalance and future fiscal strains
This blog takes an updated look at the Chicago Police Department (CPD) budget and staffing levels for 2023 based on the City of Chicago’s adopted budget for fiscal year 2023. The Mayor will introduce a new budget proposal for FY2024 later this fall. How much does the City of Chicago budget for public safety?The total City of Chicago budget adopted for Fiscal Year 2023, which ends on December 31, is $13.3 billion for all local funds. Local funds include all operating funds, but…
During the last week of May, after the Illinois General Assembly had been scheduled to adjourn, legislators passed four budget bills for fiscal year 2024: the appropriations bill, the bond authorization bill, the budget implementation bill and the revenue omnibus bill. The Governor signed them into law on June 7. This blog will explore the trends between the year-end FY2023 estimates from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget and the FY2024 enacted State budget passed by the…
Cook County Preliminary Forecast Shows Substantial Operating Surplus for Year-End FY2023 and Moderate Budget Deficit for FY2024 On June 22, 2023, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle issued a preliminary budget forecast for fiscal year 2024. The fiscal year begins December 1, 2023, and ends November 30, 2024. The report provides end-of-year estimates for the current 2023 fiscal year and a forecast for the County’s operating funds in the upcoming 2024 fiscal year. This…
The Federation urges the District to develop a long-term financial plan as costs continue to rise and a financial cliff looms. Click here to visit the report landing page.CHICAGO – In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation expressed significant concerns about the long-term viability of Chicago Public Schools’ finances. While the District’s $9.8 billion FY2024 budget is stable due to both federal COVID-19 relief funding and local tax revenue, it nevertheless faces a financial…
Click here to read the full report.Click here to read the press release for this analysis.SUMMARYThe Civic Federation continues to have significant reservations about the long-term viability of the District's finances. The CPS budget of $9.8 billion for the coming year is stable due to a combination of federal COVID-19 relief funds and local tax sources, including a property tax increase to the maximum allowed under the state tax cap law. However, CPS faces a fiscal cliff of $628 million…
Last week, the Civic Federation released its report, Financial Challenges Facing the Chicago Mayor and the City Council, which provided an overview of the City’s top financial challenges, options for additional revenue sources, financial management options to promote efficiencies and several recommendations. Among these recommendations was a call to expand the budget and authority of the City Council’s Office of Financial Analysis (COFA) as an independent source of information and analysis for…
With the upcoming implementation of an elected school board to oversee Chicago Public Schools, the governance of CPS will be separated from the City of Chicago. The 21-member elected school board, set to replace the existing seven-member board appointed by the Chicago mayor, will be phased in beginning in 2025, with the fully elected board in place beginning in 2027. The separation raises questions about the ongoing financial responsibility of the City to the school district and whether…
Click here to read the full report. Click here to read the press release for this analysis. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Governor’s proposed FY2024 budget reflects the State’s continued recovery from the pandemic recession. Since FY2021 State budgets have had year-end surpluses, much of which the State has directed toward several priorities strongly supported by the Civic Federation, such as paying down debt, increasing reserves and making supplemental pension payments. The State remains in a…
