The Civic Federation supported the City's holding the property tax levy constant for the third year in a row and eliminating vacancies, but was concerned by the lack of transparency regarding the funding for operations at Millennium Park, and by the use of borrowing to finance those operations.
The Civic Federation supported the Chicago Park District's FY2006 Budget because the District did not raise its property tax levy this year, and continues to control personnel costs by cutting positions and restructuring its healthcare program. However, the Federation was concerned by the District's 2004 and 2005 reductions in its pension contribution and the transfer of pension property tax levy receipts to the Corporate Fund.
The Civic Federation opposed the Forest Preserve District’s FY2006 Budget because the District's Capital Improvements Plan and budget document fail to meet minimum standards for disclosure and accountability.
The Civic Federation supports DuPage County's FY2006 budget and property tax increase because the County has reduced spending by 20% since 2002, and has held the line on property tax for 10 years. 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 improve its budget transparency.
The Civic Federation supports the CTA's FY2006 budget as a reasonable short-term plan. It endorses the targeted fare increase to $2.00 for cash and rail cards, and encourages the CTA to work cooperatively with the RTA and General Assembly to address its future funding needs.
The Illinois General Assembly approved a final State budget of $43.57 billion, 0.03% more than proposed by the Governor. The Governor and legislative leaders approved a 2-year pension funding “holiday” of $2.3 billion to help balance this budget.
The Civic Federation opposes District 508's FY2006 budget because it increased by 11.2%, raised property tax to the maximum amount, and increased tuition, without evidence of serious efforts to cut costs.
The Civic Federation supports the FY2006 Chicago Public Schools budget as a short-term plan to address the current year’s fiscal and programmatic challenges. It expresses concern about the budget’s lack of basic transparency, and warns of long-term financial problems arising from steadily increasing operating costs in the face of declining enrollment.
The Civic Federation strongly supported the Governor's proposed pension reforms and urged the General Assembly to adopt the pension reforms as well as a moratorium on further benefit enhancements.
The Civic Federation strongly supported the Governor's proposed pension reforms and the Pay as You Go funding proposal . It urged the General Assembly to adopt the pension reforms as well as a moratorium on further benefit enhancements.
