The Civic Federation offers conditional support for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s (MWRD) FY2012 Tentative Budget of $1.0 billion. The Federation is concerned that the budget proposes the maximum increase to the property tax levy and does not comply with the District’s own fund balance policy. The proposed reforms to pension funding that have the support of the Retirement Fund Board and the Board of Commissioners are a strong step toward improving the financial health of the…
As previously discussed here, many controversial issues confronted the Illinois General Assembly as it entered its fall veto session. Pension reform, gambling expansion, tax incentives for corporations, the Governor’s budget vetoes and a list of pending facilities closures all loomed large on the fall legislative agenda. The session was originally scheduled for October 25 through October 27 and November 5 through November 8, but an additional day was added to the session on November 29. In the…
(CHICAGO) The Civic Federation supports the $195.0 million proposed FY2012 Forest Preserve District of Cook County budget because it holds the property tax levy flat during a period of ongoing financial hardship for Cook County residents and takes steps toward more effective personnel management. The full 51-page analysis is available at civicfed.org. In the analysis, the Civic Federation commends Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Forest Preserve District General Superintendent…
The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County FY2012 Executive Budget Recommendation totaling $195.0 million, which includes both operating and capital expenditures. We commend the District for holding its property tax levy flat during a period of continued financial hardship for many Cook County residents and for taking steps toward more effective personnel management starting with a comprehensive desk audit. The District has also shown prudence by maintaining…
The State of Illinois’ statutorily required contributions to its five retirement systems will be $535.0 million higher than expected in FY2013, partly due to the impact of a pension reform law enacted in 2010. Required FY2013 state contributions to the five systems had been projected to total approximately $5.333 billion, based on actuarial valuation reports as of June 30, 2010. The retirement systems are the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS), the…
This article explains how employers in some states, including the State of Illinois, must pay higher taxes as a result of their state not paying back loans made by the Federal government to fund unemployment programs. The State of Illinois is issuing bonds to pay back the $2 billion debt, but employers will not see lower taxes until 2012. The Civic Federation says issuing bonds is reasonable and necessary to pay back the debt.
In a panel discussion, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall discusses the City of Chicago City Council’s approval of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s first City budget.
This article discusses the challenges facing City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in negotiations with the City’s unions. The Civic Federation says that Mayor Emanuel has made significant cuts and increased revenue and thus made a major dent in the structural deficit in the City’s budget.
The State of Illinois’ 44 regional school superintendents’ offices, which were slated for elimination in Governor Pat Quinn’s FY2012 budget recommendation, have been granted a reprieve—at least for one year. In presenting his proposed FY2012 budget to the General Assembly on February 16, 2011, the Governor stated that he was eliminating state funding for the offices in order to spend more in the classroom. The proposed cut involved approximately $13 million for the superintendents’ salaries and…
This editorial discusses the lack of action so far on the part of State of Illinois legislators during the veto session to address issues in the State’s pension system and its backlog of overdue bills. It cites the Civic Federation’s estimation of the State’s obligation to the pension system, which is projected to increase rapidly over the next several years.
