The Chicago Public Schools faces a potentially devastating financial crisis. The elements of this crisis include: An FY2016 budget that was not balanced as it depended on the vague hope that the State of Illinois will provide $480 million for pension relief, A forthcoming FY2017 budget that may have a gap of $1 billion or more, An ongoing structural deficit due to the District’s pension funding crisis, increases in long-term liabilities, decreases in general state aid, employee…
This segment reports on the State of Illinois paying more than $900 million in penalties for late bill payments in the past six years, which is highlighted in the Civic Federation’s recent analysis of Governor Rauner’s FY2017 proposed budget. Laurence Msall, President of the Civic Federation, remarks that spending almost a billion dollars on penalties is basically fiscal mismanagement and notes that the money could have funded many other Illinois programs.
This article explains that the City of Chicago has yet to provide alternative reforms for two of its pension funds after an Illinois Supreme Court ruling overturned the City’s previous reform plan. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall says the Illinois Supreme Court leaves open the possibility of future benefit changes but has not provided firm direction on how the Illinois General Assembly or City of Chicago could accomplish them.
This editorial reports on findings included in the Civic Federation’s recent analysis of Governor Rauner’s FY2017 proposed budget and discusses the budget’s issues. The Editorial Board says the Federation’s analysis is correct in its conclusion that parts of the Governor’s proposed spending plan are imprudent and unrealistic.
The State of Illinois can add another complication to its already stressed financial condition, an $800.7 million shortfall in its capital spending plan caused by failure in several of the dedicated revenue sources enacted to fund debt service. The State relies heavily on the sale of bonds to fund the capital budget. The original Illinois Jobs Now! capital program passed in 2010 included approximately $16.2 billion of bond-funded expenditures.[1] The State has issued $11.9 billion in bonds to…
This article discusses the Civic Federation’s recent analysis of Governor Rauner’s FY2017 proposed budget for the State of Illinois that includes a $3.5 billion deficit. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall remarks that the proposed spending for FY2017 is only worsening the State’s finances.
The City of Chicago and Cook County recently joined a number of states nationwide in a move to exempt female hygiene products from the sales tax. At the Local Level On March 16, 2016 the Chicago City Council voted to exempt certain female hygiene products from Chicago’s Home Rule Municipal Retailer’s Occupation Tax of 1.25%. The City Council also passed two resolutions calling on the Illinois General Assembly and the Illinois Department of Revenue to reclassify female…
The State of Illinois’ budget impasse could cost taxpayers another $138 million due to liabilities associated with its swaps portfolio, if the lack of a spending plan causes its bond ratings to fall much further. As previously discussed here, two of the three major rating agencies cut Illinois’ bond ratings in October 2015 due to its ongoing budget crisis and worsening financial condition. These downgrades make Illinois the only state credit currently rated below the ‘A’ category and…
This article discusses the City of Chicago’s billion-dollar plan to build the George Lucas Museum of Narrative Art that will require borrowing and tax increases. Laurence Msall, President of the Civic Federation, explains that until an agreement is made by the State on how to prioritize spending, it will be hard for any project of this magnitude to be addressed.
This article reports on Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger addressing the budget impasse by delaying paychecks to lawmakers until the stalemate is resolved. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall remarks that the Comptroller’s plan draws increased attention to the fact that Illinois has been operating without a budget for the past ten months, during which many of the State’s vendors have continued to provide services without being paid.
