(CHICAGO) A first-ever independent analysis of Chicago charter school finances by the Civic Federation has found that most of the schools were in good financial health during the 2007 and 2008 fiscal years. As a group Chicago charters also used many fiscal best practices. Released today, the report is the first of a two-part study supported by the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust. The report examined the publicly available budgets and audited financial statements of all 30 Chicago…
This 170-page report is a comprehensive examination of Chicago charter school finances and financial performance in fiscal years 2007 and 2008. The primary purpose is to provide a first-ever financial analysis of Chicago’s charter schools. In addition, the report is a primer on charter schools, providing an overview of national charter school research, an outline of charter school funding models, a review of the legislative history of charter schools in Illinois and information about the…
This article about IIFS' analysis of the State of Illinois FY2012 enacted budget focuses on the dismal fiscal outlook for the State due to its major pension and debt obligations.
This article discusses IIFS' analysis of the State of Illinois FY2012 enacted budget and explains the effect the State's pension and debt obligations will have on its budget deficit.
In this article, Crain's columnist Greg Hinz discusses findings in IIFS' analysis of the State of Illinois FY2012 enacted budget.
This article discusses IIFS' analysis of the State of Illinois FY2012 enacted budget and focuses on the amount the State pays toward its pension and debt service obligations.
Cook County’s fiscal year begins on December 1 and ends on November 30. The Civic Federation believes that all governments should adopt a budget at least one month in advance of the start of the fiscal year. For the County, that would be a November 1 budget adoption. In addition, the public should be provided with ample time to review the budget in advance of the public hearing. In the past, Cook County had fallen into a pattern of delaying the adoption of its annual budget. With the exception…
This report examines the State of Illinois’ operating and capital budgets as enacted for Fiscal Year 2012, which began on July 1, 2011 and ends on June 30, 2012. Despite a major income tax increase implemented in January 2011, the total General Funds deficit is projected to grow in FY2012 and the State continues to deal with its financial problems by delaying payments to vendors and local governments. Read the press release here.
Major Tax Increase, Cuts to Appropriations Did Not Fix State’s Finances (CHICAGO) The Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation released its analysis of the enacted FY2012 State budget today. The report found that the spending plan will increase Illinois’ total general operating deficit to $5.0 billion by June 2012. The shortfall would be even larger if the State had not significantly underfunded Medicaid costs and business tax refunds. The full 56-page report is…
The Illinois State Comptroller’s Office recently issued its annual report on tax expenditures. The report is published pursuant to a provision of the State Comptroller Act (15 ILCS 405/16) that requires the Comptroller’s Office to collect tax expenditure information reported by state agencies. A tax expenditure is defined in the State Comptroller Act as any exemption, exclusion, deduction, allowance, credit, preferential tax rate, abatement or other device that reduces the amount of tax…
