The Civic Federation urges Cook County Commissioners to reject the proposed $2.9 billion FY2009 County operating budget, which is based on $364.0 million in ill-considered borrowing for operational expenses.
The Civic Federation opposes the Cook County FY2009 proposed budget because it is built on an unstable foundation of $364.0 million in borrowed funds to pay for operating expenses less than a year after the County raised its sales tax by one percentage point. The report makes numerous recommendations for cost reductions, management reforms, and pension reforms.
The Civic Federation supports the MWRD's FY2009 Budget because it minimizes the burden on taxpayers and demonstrates reasonable financial planning. The Civic Federation recommends that the District pursue numerous pension reforms in order to improve the declining fiscal health of the pension fund.
The Civic Federation supports Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias' proposal to merge the investment functions of all five state-funded pension systems into a single fund managed by a new Illinois Public Employees' Retirement System (ILPERS). The Federation is pleased that financial training requirements and transparency measures have been included in the Treasurer's proposal.
The Civic Federation supports the FY2009 City of Chicago budget of $5.97 billion because it does not rely on raising property tax and begins the painful yet necessary step of reducing payroll by 2,618 full-time equivalent positions to balance the budget. The Federation warns that steps must be taken to reduce the mounting liabilities of the City's pension funds.
The Civic Federation supports the Chicago Park District’s FY2009 budget because it is a fiscally responsible plan and demonstrates a commendable emphasis on cost containment and avoids a property tax increase for the fifth consecutive year. This has been accomplished utilizing reasonable increases in user fees and charges, personnel reductions, departmental consolidations and a three day District shutdown.
The Civic Federation supports the CTA’s FY2009 budget of $1.3 billion as a responsible short-term plan to provide critical mass transit services to the Chicagoland population. The CTA’s proposed fare increases of 25 to 50 cents per ride, combined with personnel reductions, are a reasonable means of offsetting the mounting costs of the free ride programs mandated by Governor Blagojevich, decreased real estate transfer tax revenues and skyrocketing energy and fuel costs. The Federation is…
The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District's proposed $193.6 million budget because the District will freeze its property tax levy this year and maintains a prudent fund balance. However, the Federation warns that the District will face fiscal pressure in the future due to rising personnel costs and should implement performance measurements to assess the effectiveness of its current staff before adding more positions.
The Civic Federation offers qualified support for the DuPage County $505 million FY2009 budget proposal. Although DuPage County has proposed a reasonable spending plan that freezes property tax, our support is qualified because the budget fails to provide sufficient transparency and to demonstrate that the County Board is effectively planning for its future financial challenges.
This issue brief reviews the status of the five pension funds of the State of Illinois. It discusses the State's historic underfunding of its pension funds, efforts to improve the funding situation (including pension obligation bonds), and various reform recommendations.
