Chicago Public Schools

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Chicago Public Schools Releases Scaled Back Capital Improvement Plan

On May 1, 2015, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) released their proposed FY2016 capital budget and an updated Five-Year capital improvement plan for FY2016-…

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Where Do Your Property Taxes Go?

What local government purposes, services, or expenditures does your property tax dollar fund? Governments traditionally use property tax revenues to pay for a wide variety of expenditures, including employee salaries and pensions, debt…

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More Government Consolidation and Efficiency Efforts in Illinois

The Civic Federation has long supported sensible legislation aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations in Illinois. The purpose of this blog is to summarize briefly consolidation legislation and…

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12-Year Short-Term Liability Trends for Chicago, Cook County and Chicago Public Schools

Short-term or current liabilities are financial obligations that must be satisfied within one year. They can include short-term debt, accounts payable, accrued payroll and other current liabilities. This blog post presents 12-year trends…

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Chicago Public Schools Reports Reduction to Fund Balance

The Chicago Public Schools audited financial statements for fiscal year 2014 released last week indicate the deterioration of the District’s fiscal condition continued through the end of FY2014. The District’s most recent Comprehensive…

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Chicagoans’ Pension Obligations Per Capita Rose 199.4% Since 2004

The Civic Federation’s previous blog examined the long-term debt of eight major local governments in northeastern Illinois.This…

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Long-Term Debt for Eight Major Chicago Governments Rises by 59.2% in 10-Year Period

The Civic Federation regularly analyzes and comments on the budgets and audited financial statements of eight major local governments in northeastern Illinois: 1.…

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Change in Public Pension Plan Investment Return Assumptions 2001-2013

The Civic Federation and IIFS blogs have written extensively about reductions to assumed rates of return on investment by State and some local public pension plans over the last several years. These changes are part of a nationwide…

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How Property Taxes are Distributed in the City of Chicago

The Cook County Clerk’s Office annually releases a tax rate report that provides the tax rates for various taxing agencies within Cook County. It is important for property taxpayers to have an accurate picture of which governments receive…

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Status of Local Pension Funding Fiscal Year 2012

Chicago-area public employee pension funding levels continued to decline in FY2012, with total unfunded liabilities for the ten funds analyzed rising to $37.2 billion from $32.0 billion in FY2011. On average, the ten funds analyzed had an…