The blogs for this week and next week will examine the long-term obligations of six selected municipalities in Illinois and their overlapping local governments using per capita indicators based on unfunded pension liabilities and bonded debt. The overlapping pensions per capita and the debt per capita figures are indicators that the Civic Federation has long calculated for Chicago residents. These two posts expand these important indicators for residents of other municipalities. This aggregate…
In this segment, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall discusses the findings of the Federation’s FY2014 Chicago Public Schools Budget Analysis. The Civic Federation said relying on reserve funds to balance the budget is an unsustainable practice the District won’t be able to repeat next year, when it will face a $1 billion budget deficit absent pension reform.
This editorial discusses the need for pension reform for Chicago Public Schools and District officials’ failure to detail a pension plan. The editorial cites the Civic Federation’s FY2014 Chicago Public Schools Budget Analysis, which found the District will face a deficit of nearly $1 billion in each of the next two years.
This article covers the release of the Civic Federation’s FY2014 Chicago Public Schools Budget Analysis. The Civic Federation did not support the budget, which completely draws down unrestricted reserve funds and uses some restricted reserves to close a $977 million budget deficit. The Federation said the District’s long-term fiscal health remains in jeopardy absent pension reform.
This article discusses key findings from the Civic Federation’s FY2014 Chicago Public Schools Budget Analysis. The District’s financial situation continues to deteriorate while legislators delay action on pension reform, with this year’s budget relying on reserve funding to close a $997 million deficit. The Civic Federation urges the District to develop its own pension reform plan tied to a long-term financial plan.
The Civic Federation does not support the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) proposed $6.6 billion operating budget for FY2014, which completely draws down unrestricted reserve funds and uses some restricted reserves to close a $977 million budget deficit. Even after the pain of layoffs and school closings, the District’s long-term fiscal health remains in jeopardy absent pension reform. The Federation acknowledges that the District’s budgetary options are severely constrained by the Illinois…
(CHICAGO) In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation withholds support for the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) proposed $6.6 billion budget for FY2014, which closes a $977 million budget deficit with a complete drawdown of unrestricted reserve funds, as well as use of some restricted reserve funds. Even after the pain of layoffs and school closings, the District’s long-term fiscal health remains in jeopardy absent pension reform. The full 83-page analysis is available at www.civicfed.org…
Last week the City of Chicago released its Annual Financial Analysis for 2013. According to an executive order issued by Mayor Emanuel on May 20, 2011, the Office of Budget and Management is mandated to produce a financial analysis of the City budget by July 31st of each year. The report includes year-end estimates for the current fiscal year (which ends on December 31) and revenue and expenditure estimates for FY2014. For more information on what is included in the annual reports, see the…
This article covers the July 31 release of the City of Chicago’s annual financial analysis, which projects a $1 billion deficit in 2015 if the City’s pension funds aren’t stabilized by major reforms. The Civic Federation said it would be very difficult to cover such a large deficit without tax increases and severe cuts to city services.
Charged with finding a solution to the State of Illinois’ pension crisis, a legislative conference committee is considering a reform framework proposed by public university presidents. The central feature of the university proposal is a compounded automatic annual benefit increase set at half of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Current Illinois retirees and employees hired before January 1, 2011 receive compounded increases of 3%. If inflation averages 2.75% over the…
