This article covers the tough financial choices Chicago Public Schools is facing coming into the fall 2015 school year, including a $634 million pension payment. The Civic Federation discussed the District’s difficult options: severe budget cuts in order to make the payment, skipping the pension payment and violating the law, or seeking an emergency fix from the Illinois General Assembly.
In December 2010 the Illinois General Assembly passed and then Governor Quinn signed legislation (Public Act 96-1495) that created a new tier of pension benefits for public safety employees in Illinois hired on or after January 1, 2011, including Chicago police and firefighters. The legislation also significantly changed the City of Chicago’s employer contributions starting five years later in budget year 2016. The statutory schedule requires an increase in funding in 2016 of over $500 million…
UPDATE: Subsequent to the publication of this blog, House Bill 777 was amended to include provisions of the City’s proposal to extend the amortization of its Police and Fire pension funding through 2055 instead of 2040 as under current law. The legislation includes a 90% target for the systems’ funding ratios and a five-year ramp of lower payments leading into the new contribution schedule. _________________________________________________________________________________________…
This article discusses the FY2016 Recommended Budget Analysis released by the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation. The Civic Federation opposed the budget because the analysis found that certain spending reductions are either unrealistic or inconsistent with the State’s long-term financial goals.
This article covers an analysis released on the Governor’s FY2016 Recommended Budget by the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability. The analysis found that while the budget closes a $6.2 billion gap on paper, it relies heavily on projected savings that do not appear to be achievable.
This article covers the FY2016 Recommended Budget Analysis released by the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability on May 7. The analysis found that certain projected savings included in the budget are dependent on changes in State law and are likely unachievable within the timeframe of the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2015.
An Illinois Supreme Court decision overturning legislation to reduce the State’s massive pension costs will add to the difficulty of creating a balanced operating budget for the year that begins on July 1, 2015. The high court struck down the law on May 8, ruling that it violated the Illinois Constitution by cutting benefits for retirees and employees. The 2013 legislation reduced annual benefit increases, raised retirement ages for younger workers and capped the salary on which pension…
Urges General Assembly to Identify Alternate Plan for Closing $6.2 Billion Budget Gap In a new report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability opposes Governor Rauner’s recommended budget for FY2016 because it relies heavily on projected savings that do not appear to be achievable or prudent in light of the State of Illinois’ obligations and long-term policy objectives. The Institute’s full 78-page report is available here. The Governor’s…
The Civic Federation opposes Governor Bruce Rauner’s recommended budget for FY2016 because it relies heavily on projected savings that do not appear to be achievable or prudent in light of the State of Illinois’ obligations and long-term policy objectives. Savings of $2.2 billion related to a new pension reform proposal are assumed to be realized in the budget, even though this proposal has not been introduced as legislation in the Illinois General Assembly and is likely to face legal…
On May 1, 2015, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) released their proposed FY2016 capital budget and an updated Five-Year capital improvement plan for FY2016-FY2020. The exhibit below shows the amounts proposed by CPS for FY2016-FY2020 for capital spending. In those five years, a total of approximately $536.8 million has been forecast for projects. This is nearly a 57% decrease from the FY2015-FY2019 capital improvement plan forecast for projects that was expected to total nearly $1.2 billion in…
