The Civic Federation opposes the Cook County FY2008 proposed budget. The $3.2 billion budget includes a 267% increase in the county sales tax, the addition of 1,130 new positions, and other tax hikes that could generate as much as $979.8 million when fully implemented in FY2009. The Federation’s analysis includes recommendations that would both contain costs and provide much-needed improvements to the county’s management of tax dollars.
The Civic Federation gives qualified support to the Chicago Public Schools Recommended 5.8 billion dollar FY2008 operating budget. The District has made efforts to contain costs and improve budget transparency. However, the Civic Federation's support is based on the District's pledge to develop publicly-available long-term planning processes and documents next year. The Civic Federation also urges the District to reduce its property tax levy by 32 million dollars in response to unexpected…
The Civic Federation supports the City Colleges of Chicago's tentative $473.6 million FY2008 budget because the district will reduce its overall property tax burden, exercize fiscal restraint, and has increased the amount of time allowed for public comment and review. The Federation is concerned, however, that the budget does not contain current personnel or enrollment projections and predicts significant operating deficits by 2010.
The Civic Federation opposes the massive expansion of health care and long-term borrowing proposed in the FY2008 State budget recommendation, but offers qualified support for sale/lease of the State lottery and for reasonable revenue enhancements to fund education and mass transit. The Federation also urges the General Assembly to implement pension benefit reforms.
This report compares Illinois school districts' financial management and accountability standards with nationwide best practices, and makes policy recommendations regarding steps Illinois should take to ensure greater financial accountability from school districts.
The Civic Federation offers qualified support for Cook County’s FY2007 Budget based on the County’s plan to meet its 502 million dollar budget deficit with substantial spending cuts rather than tax increases. The Civic Federation opposes, however, the County’s plan to borrow 104 million dollars to make its FY2007 pension contribution, and calls upon the County to implement an effective performance measurement system in order to improve the County’s budgeting process.
The Civic Federation supported the MWRD's FY2007 Budget because it minimizes the burden on taxpayers and implements sound financial planning techniques. Notably, the MWRD has adopted a policy establishing an irrevocable trust for funding its Other Post Employment Benefit liabilities (e.g., retiree health care), and is appropriating 10 million dollars for this purpose in FY2007. The District is one of the few governments in Illinois that has moved beyond the question of how to report OPEB…
The Civic Federation supported the Chicago Park District's FY2007 Budget because the District did not raise its property tax levy this year, and has held down operating costs through a combination of careful management practices, privatization of services, and public-private partnerships. However, the Federation was concerned by a decline in health of the District's pension fund, exacerbated by a recent reduction in District pension contributions. The Federation also cautioned that the…
This issue brief describes various forms of privatization available to the public sector, including asset sales, contracting out of management, corporatization, internal markets, intergovernmental contracts, managed competition, and vouchers. It discusses the pros and cons of these alternative service delivery options with examples of privatization efforts in Chicago-area governments. It also includes the Civic Federation's position on alternative service delivery and recommendations…
The Civic Federation supports DuPage County's FY2007 budget because the County has reduced spending by over twenty-five percent since 2003, and has focused on cost reduction before seeking revenue increases. The Civic Federation cautions against any future policy of relying on property tax increases as the first line of attack for balancing the budget, and urges the County to explore consolidation and privatization, and to improve its budget transparency.
