10.03.13
Over the next few weeks, many Chicago-area local governments will be releasing their proposed budgets for fiscal year 2014. In preparation for the upcoming budget releases, this blog will recap the Civic Federation’s significant observations from our analyses of local governments’...
09.26.13
Since July 2013 each of the six local governments monitored by the Civic Federation with General Obligation bond debt has experienced downgrades to their bond ratings. These governments are the City of Chicago, Cook County, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), the Forest Preserve...
08.22.13
The Civic Federation does not support the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) proposed $6.6 billion operating budget for FY2014, which completely draws down unrestricted reserve funds and uses some...
08.21.13
At the end of the month, the Board of Education for Chicago Public Schools will vote on the District’s $5.6 billion operating budget for FY2014. The total budget of $6.6 billion is supported by local, state and federal revenues and other resources, including $761.6 million of appropriated...
05.22.13
This week the Civic Federation released its annual Status of Local Pension Funding report . The purpose of this report is to compile and analyze basic financial data of the retirement funds for the...
05.21.13
Chicago-area public employee pension funding levels dropped significantly in FY2011, with unfunded liabilities for the ten funds analyzed rising to $32.0 billion from $27.4 billion in FY2010, an...
04.17.13
UPDATE:
At its April 24, 2013 meeting, the Chicago Board of Education approved the District’s amended FY2013 capital budget.
Original blog published on April 17, 2013
On April 6th Chicago Public Schools (CPS) released its...
02.27.13
This blog examines some of the long-term obligations of the City of Chicago and its overlapping local governments using a per capita indicator based on bonded debt and unfunded pension liabilities. Rating agencies and other financial analysts commonly monitor overlapping direct debt trends as an...
01.31.13
On January 23, 2013, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) released its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the 2012 fiscal year. The fiscal year for CPS begins on July 1 and ends on June 30....
12.26.12
A look back at the Civic Federation’s blog this year provides a preview of upcoming fiscal challenges for local governments in 2013.
Pension Funding The most urgent fiscal challenge for Illinois governments continues to be the pension funding crisis. The combined funded ratio for...
