Executive Summary The Chicago Public School District (CPS or the “District”) faces a critical financial juncture, highlighted by structural budget imbalances, rising expenditures, declining enrollment, significant near-term infrastructure investment needs, and substantial long-term liabilities. A new 21-member Board of Education (the “Board”), partially elected for the first time, inherits these challenges as it assumes oversight on January 15, 2025.
In this short report, the Civic Federation analyzes indicators of the fiscal health of the Cook County Pension Fund based on the most recent FY2023 actuarial report as of December 31, 2023. Compared to many other pension funds in Illinois, Cook County’s pension fund is in a more sustainable financial situation. This is primarily due to employer contributions made by the County above and beyond the amount required by state statute in recent years. The County began making supplemental pension…
This report lays out several major issues facing the Chicago Mayor and City Council as they prepare to enter the FY2025 budget cycle and beyond, including the City’s structural deficit, pensions, long-term debt, public safety and more.
The following are summaries of the five most-read posts presented on the Civic Federation’s blog in 2023, listed here in chronological order. The posts examine issues related to Illinois taxes and debt, Tier 2 Benefits, the SAFE-T Act, and the tragic passing of Civic Federation President Laurence Msall.
Policy Brief: Tier 2 Pensions and Safe Harbor ExplainedThe Civic Federation partnered with the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago to draft this policy brief to explain Tier 2 pensions in Illinois and the Safe Harbor issue.
Policy Brief: Tier 2 Pensions and Safe Harbor ExplainedThe Civic Federation partnered with the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago to draft this policy brief to explain Tier 2 pensions in Illinois and the Safe Harbor issue.
In this blog post, the Civic Federation analyzes indicators of the fiscal health of the City of Chicago’s four pension funds based on the most recent FY2022 actuarial reports, dated December 31, 2022. The City of Chicago’s pension funds are severely underfunded due to a combination of statutory underfunding, benefit enhancements, investment losses, optimistic assumptions and other long-term problems. In 2016, the City’s four pension funds began transitioning per State law to 40-year…
In this blog post, the Civic Federation analyzes indicators of the fiscal health of the Cook County pension fund based on the most recent FY2022 actuarial report as of December 31, 2022. Compared to many other pension funds in Illinois, Cook County’s pension fund is in more sustainable financial shape. This is due in large part to employer contributions made by the County above and beyond the amount required by state statute over the past seven years. The County began making supplemental…
The Civic Federation submitted the following written testimony to Chairperson Kifowit and Members of the House Personnel & Pensions Committee on August 9, 2023.Dear Chairperson Kifowit and Members of the House Personnel & Pensions Committee: As the House Personnel and Pensions Committee considers a path forward for Tier 2 pensions in Illinois this year, the Civic Federation urges this Committee and the Illinois General Assembly to consider the following recommendations:Any changes…
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…
