A report released today by the Civic Federation uses nine indicators of financial condition to measure the relative financial performance of Chicago and 12 other major U.S. cities from FY2007 to FY2011. Of the cities analyzed, only Boston and Detroit consistently performed worse than Chicago by these metrics during the five-year period that encompasses the Great Recession and slow recovery. The full 56-page report is available at www.civicfed.org. “Chicago’s relative financial performance…
This report uses nine indicators of financial condition to measure the relative financial performance of Chicago and 12 other major U.S. cities from FY2007 to FY2011. In addition to Chicago, the other cities analyzed were Baltimore, Boston, Columbus, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City (MO), Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Seattle. Of the cities analyzed, only Boston and Detroit consistently performed worse than Chicago by these metrics during the five-year period that…
In a report released today, the Civic Federation supports the $178.8 million FY2014 budget proposed by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. The budget holds the property tax levy flat and maintains substantial reserve funds. However, the Federation warns that these achievements are threatened by the declining health of the District’s pension fund. The full 57-page report is available at civicfed.org. “We applaud the steps taken by President Preckwinkle and Superintendent Randall to…
The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s FY2014 proposed $178.8 million budget that holds the property tax levy flat and maintains substantial reserve funds. However, the Federation warns that these achievements are threatened by the declining health of the District’s pension fund. The District’s reasonable budget plan is only possible because State law requires the District to contribute an inadequate amount to its pensions. The market value funded ratio of…
Recent trend analysis performed by the Civic Federation shows that the funded status of the Cook County Pension Fund declined again in fiscal year 2012, the most recent year for which data are available. The market value funded ratio for the County pension fund fell to 55.1% in FY2012 from 69.1% in FY2003. The fund was over 90% funded as recently as FY2000. Funded ratio and unfunded liabilities are two indicators of pension fund fiscal health the Civic Federation uses to evaluate State…
The State of Illinois will need to contribute somewhat more to its five retirement systems in FY2015, but the growth will be less than previously projected due mainly to strong investment returns. Pension contributions required by State law will increase by $103.5 million, or 1.5%, to $6.9 billion in FY2015 from $6.8 billion in FY2014, according to preliminary certifications by the five systems. A year ago, the FY2015 contributions were projected to increase by $282.4 million to $7.0 billion…
In a report released today, the Civic Federation supports Cook County’s proposed FY2014 operating budget of $3.2 billion, which holds the property tax levy relatively flat by reducing expenditures and aggressively pursuing new revenue for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System under the federal Affordable Care Act. “This budget shows admirable restraint and forward thinking from Board President Preckwinkle and her leadership team,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation. “…
The Civic Federation supports Cook County’s proposed FY2014 operating budget of $3.2 billion for holding the property tax levy relatively flat, reducing expenditures and aggressively pursuing new revenue for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System under the federal Affordable Care Act. The administration continues to stabilize the County budget without increasing the property tax burden on County taxpayers by showing admirable restraint and forward thinking. Although the County has taken…
(The full content of this article is only available to the publication’s subscribers.) This article covers the release of the Civic Federation’s FY2014 State of Illinois Enacted Budget Analysis on October 2. The report found the State made some progress in paying down its unpaid bills, but missed the opportunity to prepare for rising pension payments or the dramatic revenue loss projected for FY2015 after the temporary income tax rate increase sunsets.
This editorial discusses the Civic Federation’s FY2014 State of Illinois Enacted Budget Analysis and the State’s lack of progress on passing pension reforms. The analysis says this year’s budget may be a “high-water mark” with future years bringing sharp reductions in revenues and further consequences of the unresolved pension crisis.
