After stabilizing due to legislative changes, Illinois’ contributions to its severely underfunded retirement systems are expected to resume their climb in the upcoming budget year. Proposed State contributions to the five pension funds rise by $539.9 million to $8.5 billion in fiscal year 2019, which begins on July 1, 2018. That represents an increase of 6.8% from $7.9 billion in FY2018. Because of recent changes in Illinois pension law, the FY2018 amount is only 1% higher than the $7.…
Following Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s FY2018 budget address, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall spoke with a pool of reporters on the City of Chicago’s finances. He said the Mayor’s budget is a reasonable plan that can move the City forward but warned that Chicago still has long-term financial challenges that must be addressed. ----- Chicago Sun-Times: Emanuel unveils 2018 budget; Chicago ‘on firmer financial footing’ DNA Info: Progressives Take Aim At Budget Plan While Others Say…
After several iterations and much disagreement, the State of Illinois now has a new statewide school funding formula. The Illinois General Assembly approved the new formula as Senate Bill 1947, House Floor Amendment 5 on August 29, with the Illinois House passing the bill Monday, August 28 and the Senate concurring the next day. The Governor signed the bill into law as Public Act 100-0465 on August 31, 2017. This historic new funding formula will help alleviate the ailing finances of the…
In this segment, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall discusses key aspects of the State of Illinois’ FY2018 budget and the challenges the State still faces. He says the most important aspect of Illinois having a budget is that it puts parameters on the obligations the State will in incur in the coming fiscal year.
August 1, 2017 UPDATE: The City of Chicago released its Annual Financial Analysis for 2017 on July 31, 2017. The online content included with the report includes two years of projections of the City’s actuarially calculated contributions under the new funding schedule for the Municipal and Laborers’ Funds after the end of the five-year ramp. Note that the years in the chart are levy years and refer to contributions that will actually be made in the following fiscal year. Original post…
The State of Illinois ended its two-year budget impasse on July 6, 2017, enacting a $36.1 billion spending plan with about $5 billion in tax increases. To break the logjam, the General Assembly narrowly overrode Governor Bruce Rauner’s…
This article discusses the high interest rate that the Chicago Public Schools will have to pay on $387 million in loans that the District is using as a short-term fix for its financial crisis. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall remarks that the extraordinary interest rate that the District will pay on the loans is a waste of money that could otherwise go to the benefit of students.
This article examines the City of Chicago’s proposed short-term borrowing plan to prevent the Chicago Public Schools from ending the school year early. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall remarks that the District could pay a premium for the short-term fix and notes that there needs to be a long-term plan from the State of Illinois and City of Chicago on how to handle the District’s financial issues.
The following news items cover the release of the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation's analysis of Governor Rauner’s FY2018 recommended budget. As mentioned in the analysis, the Civic Federation cannot support the FY2018 recommended budget. Further, the Federation calls on the Governor and General Assembly to end the unacceptable stalemate and to reject any attempt to pass standalone K-12 spending, payment of non-emergency workers or any piecemeal approach…
Click here to read the full report. The Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability not able to support Governor Rauner’s recommended FY2018 budget because it has an operating deficit of at least $4.6 billion, presents an insufficiently detailed plan for closing the gap and does not address Illinois’ massive backlog of bills. In addition to analyzing the recommended budget, the report examines the costs of the ongoing impasse and the irreparable harm caused to our…
