Prior to the release of the Governor’s annual budget recommendation the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation releases an analysis of the State of Illinois’ fiscal condition. The FY2013 Roadmap includes a review of Governor Quinn’s three-year budget plan, a rough five-year budget projection for FY2013 to FY2017 and recommendations for the Governor and General Assembly to improve the state’s financial condition. The Civic Federation’s Illinois research institute…
(The full text of this article is available only to the publication’s subscribers.) This article cites a Civic Federation analysis that total unfunded liabilities for ten Chicago-area pension funds and five State pension funds reached $103 billion in FY2010. The Civic Federation said the numbers reinforce the need for sweeping pension reform at the State and local level.
This “All Things Considered” segment examines the State of Illinois’ budget one year after last year’s income tax increase. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall said that even with the tax increase the State of Illinois still has an operating deficit of approximately $500 million. He added that with unfunded pension liabilities of over $80 billion, the State needs to make a significant effort to reduce pension costs.
Data from the most recent audited financial statements of Illinois’ state and local government pension funds shows that the total unfunded liabilities for public employee pensions supported by the taxes of Chicago residents reached $14,896 per capita for fiscal year 2010. That is up from $10,037 per capita in FY2008. Property taxes paid by Chicago residents (both owners and renters) support the four pension funds for City of Chicago employees as well as the pension funds for employees of the…
Governor Pat Quinn released a three-year budget projection for the State of Illinois this week that shows only minor improvements in the State’s financial circumstances in the near term and declining prospects for Illinois’ future fiscal stability. The budget plan, required by law to be issued the first week of January, provides an update to the FY2012 State budget after changes made during the General Assembly’s veto session and gives revenue and spending projections for the next three fiscal…
Civic Federation President Laurence Msall was interviewed for this news segment on pension reform legislation signed by Governor Quinn on January 5, 2012. The law closes recently publicized loopholes in the State’s pension system. Mr. Msall says the law ends select abuses, but does not address the systematic problems leading the State’s pension funds to insolvency.
In 2011 the Civic Federation blog provided weekly context, information and perspective on government budgets and fiscal issues across Illinois. Posts in 2011 focused on FY2012 local government budget analysis and the severe challenges facing local government pension funds, as well as a series of recommendations for improving the fiscal sustainability of the City of Chicago and Cook County. The following is a selection of the year’s posts. FY2012 Local Government Budget…
In 2011 the IIFS blog provided weekly context, information and perspective on key fiscal issues in the State of Illinois. Posts in 2011 focused on analysis of FY2012 Illinois budget negotiations, analysis of the ongoing Illinois pension crisis and timely research on other fiscal issues impacting the State of Illinois. The following is a selection of the year’s posts. Analysis of FY2012 Illinois Budget Negotiations The IIFS blog opened the year by examining the implications of a…
In his blog post, Greg Hinz discusses the Civic Federation’s analysis of the Chicago Park District’s FY2012 budget. The Civic Federation supports the budget because it holds the property tax levy flat for the seventh year in a row and emphasizes cost containment and revenue diversification. The Civic Federation remains concerned about the declining health of the Park District pension fund.
In the past two years, nine states have passed laws to reduce automatic annual increases in pension benefits for current retirees. The latest example is Rhode Island, which in November 2011 enacted legislation to suspend annual pension increases until the state’s retirement systems are more adequately funded. The table below, based primarily on data from the National Conference of State Legislatures summarizes new laws related to annual pension increases. The reductions in automatic annual…
