Forest Preserve District of Cook County

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Local Government Pension Funds Lower their Expected Investment Rates of Return for FY2012

Four large local government pension funds in the Chicago area reduced their expected investment rates of return for fiscal year 2012. While intended to make the funds’ actuarial assumptions more realistic, these decisions will also have…

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Local Government Budgets: What to Watch for in 2014

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…

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Six Chicago-Area Local Government Bond Ratings Downgraded in Three Months

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…

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Civic Federation Releases Status of Local Pension Funding FY2011 Report

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…

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Status of Local Pension Funding Fiscal Year 2011

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 increase of 16.7% according to the most…

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Chicagoans' Long-Term Debt and Pension Obligations Per Capita Rose 185% Since 2002

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…

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What’s Next for Local Governments in 2013?

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…

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Civic Federation Recommendations for the Chicago-area Local Governments

Last week the Civic Federation marked the end of the FY2013 budget season with a blog that summarized the proposed budgets for the nine local governments the Federation…

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FY2013 Budget Season Summary

Last week marked the end of the budget season for the nine local governments monitored by the Civic Federation. These governments include: the City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), DuPage County, City of Chicago, Cook…

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Forest Preserve District of Cook County FY2013 Budget Analysis

The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s FY2013 proposed $190.3 million budget for its discipline in identifying non-tax revenue sources to hold the property tax levy flat for the fourth year in a row…