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June 23, 2010
Chicago Sun-Times - Page 26
This editorial discusses recent efforts to overhaul the State of Illinois’ public pension systems and reduce its unfunded liabilities. It mentions a Civic Federation proposal to eliminate the income tax exemption for pension income in Illinois as a possible part of a solution to the State’s budget crisis, which is caused in part by Illinois’ underfunded pension system.
June 21, 2010
Quad-Cities Online - Online edition
This editorial about Illinois’ perilous fiscal condition features Civic Federation commentary about the State of Illinois’ fiscal crisis and mentions recommendations made by the Federation in its “Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan for the State of Illinois” report.
June 24, 2010
The Daily Journal - Online edition
This editorial about the options Illinois has to balance its budget focuses on recommendations made by the Civic Federation in its “Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan for the State of Illinois.”
June 23, 2010
The Daily Herald - Online edition
This article is about how a few Chicagoland school districts have started evaluating the need for car allowance perks for officials in a time of shrinking budgets and tax revenue. The Civic Federation says that in the current economic climate all school district administrative expenses should be scrutinized.
June 25, 2010 - 3:50pm
On June 10th at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago, the Civic Federation honored the outstanding civic leadership of John F. Sandner, Retired Chairman and Member of the Executive Committee of CME Group, Inc., with the Lyman J. Gage Award for Outstanding Civic Contribution. Abbott, a global, broad-based health care company, received the Addams-Palmer Award for Exemplary Civic Involvement. Abbott Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Miles D. White accepted the award on behalf of his company. Read more about the Civic Federation Awards here.
More than 500 of Chicago’s and Illinois’ most prominent business and political leaders attended the luncheon.
We welcome any questions and feedback about the content of this blog. Please e-mail blog@civicfed.org with your query.
June 22, 2010 - 2:04pm
The State of Illinois has yet to determine how it will handle its required pension contributions for FY2011. However, a recent analysis by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) estimates that skipping the $3.5 billion payment entirely would cost the State $12.5 billion in additional contributions.
We welcome any questions and feedback about the content of this blog. Please e-mail blog@civicfed.org with your query.
June 17, 2010 - 3:40pm
On June 15, 2010 the Chicago Board of Education approved measures to cope with the school district’s estimated $600 million deficit for the coming school year. The measures include authorizing the establishment of an $800 million line of credit to cover delayed state payments and authorizing CEO Ron Huberman to increase class sizes to 35 students if necessary.
We welcome any questions and feedback about the content of this blog. Please e-mail blog@civicfed.org with your query.
June 17, 2010
Civic Federation Position Statement on School Vouchers
June 17, 2010
The Civic Federation supports the use of vouchers to provide students in low-performing public schools with the opportunity to attend private schools. We view charter schools and a voucher system as important initiatives for public education because they provide school choice for parents and students and bring innovation to the state’s education system.
June 17, 2010 - 12:31pm
The State of Illinois is not the only cash-strapped state that shied away from major tax increases to improve its financial condition in FY2011. According to Stateline.org, most states avoided raising significant revenue and instead patched together FY2011 budgets by finding a few new items to tax, curtailing spending and relying on federal stimulus dollars.
We welcome any questions and feedback about the content of this blog. Please e-mail blog@civicfed.org with your query.
June 16, 2010
Chicago Sun-Times - Page 2
This article discusses how the Chicago Public School system plans to balance its FY2011 budget with a combination of class size increases and borrowing. The Civic Federation questioned why CPS would opt to increase class size without trying to negotiate with the teachers union over $125 million in scheduled FY2011 pay increases.
