As reported in the Civic Federation’s latest report on ten local government pension funds, the most recent audited financial statements of the Chicago firefighters’ pension fund showed a market value funded ratio of only 27.2%. The Chicago police fund was close behind at only 34.7%. What do these numbers mean? Funded ratio is the most basic indicator of pension fund status. It is the ratio of assets to liabilities and can be expressed using either the current market value of assets or…
Major Reforms Necessary to Avert Insolvency The Civic Federation’s annual report on the finances of ten Chicago-area public pension funds, released today, shows their aggregate funding deficit reached $18.5 billion in fiscal year 2008. Each resident of Chicago—young and old—is therefore saddled with $5,821 in unfunded pension promises to Chicago and Cook County public employees, up from $1,189 in FY2000. “The Civic Federation is deeply concerned about the unsustainable rate of increase in…
This report analyzes basic financial data on ten major local government employee pension funds in Cook County. It is intended to provide lawmakers, pension trustees, pension fund members and taxpayers with the information they need to make informed decisions regarding public employee retirement benefits. The report reviews fiscal year 2008 actuarial valuation reports and financial statements of the retirement plans for the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools, Cook…
The State of Illinois’ underfunding of its retirement systems is a growing source of pressure on the State’s operating budget and an increasing focus of national attention. In a recent report by the Pew Center on the States, Illinois was found to be in the worst shape of any state with regard to the funding of its pension systems. The financial information in the Pew report was based on data from June 30, 2008. As part of the recently released Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan for the State of…
An Analysis of the State’s Fiscal Crisis and Actionable Recommendations for Governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois General Assembly Please visit the Illinois Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan web page for a comprehensive look at the report. This report describes the basis of the State of Illinois’ fiscal crisis and presents the Civic Federation’s plan for rehabilitating the State’s finances. The plan proposes measures to substantially reduce the current budget deficit in FY2011 and to place the State…
Proposes Comprehensive Package to Address State Budget Crisis Please visit the Illinois Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan web page for a comprehensive look at the report. CHICAGO – The Civic Federation, a 116 year-old government research organization, released today its plan to salvage the State of Illinois’ finances. “A Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan for the State of Illinois” calls for a comprehensive package of budget cuts, pension reforms, and revenue increases to put Illinois on solid financial…
Civic Federation President Laurence Msall was interviewed for this news segment about Illinois' severe budget troubles on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" program. He says that Illinois' fiscal issues do not stem from the current economic recession, but rather the state's history of spending more than its available revenue and a tendency to defer its pension responsibilities.
As the Civic Federation composes its forthcoming Status of Local Pensions Report, we have pensions on our minds. Here’s a quick round up of what’s happening with local pension funds in Chicago and across the State of Illinois, including status updates on commissions, results of pension obligation bonding and cost estimates of legislated benefit increases. City of Chicago In January of 2008 the City of Chicago convened a task force to address its pension funding problems. The City of Chicago…
This week the State of Illinois finalized one of its largest revenue sources enacted by General Assembly and approved by the Governor to fund the FY2010 budget, a $3.5 billion loan. By selling five-year pension obligation bonds, sometimes referred to as pension notes, the State freed up $3.5 billion to fund operations for FY2010 that would have otherwise been used to pay for the statutorily required payment to its five pension funds. However, as previously discussed on the IIFS blog, this…
The redesign of the Civic Federation website in July has provided the public, government officials, and the media better access to the Federation’s analyses of government services in Illinois. The regularly-updated Civic Federation blog especially has provided a constant source of information on the issues that the Federation covers, including local budgets and pensions, taxes, privatization and asset leases, and commentary on events in the news. Blog posts about local government budgets…
