The Civic Federation is working on a project to examine indicators that can be used to assess the financial health of local governments. Previously, this blog compared Chicago’s fund balance with a group of thirteen large U.S. cities that have also been the subject of analysis by the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative. This entry compares Chicago to the same group of cities…
Data from the most recent audited financial statements of Illinois’ state and local government pension funds shows that the total unfunded liabilities for public employee pensions supported by the taxes of Chicago residents reached $14,896 per capita for fiscal year 2010. That is up from $10,037 per capita in FY2008. Property taxes paid by Chicago residents (both owners and renters) support the…
Chicago residents will experience changes in a number of consumer taxes going into effect throughout 2012 as a result of policy changes at the City and County levels. The new consumer tax rates are presented in the exhibit below. Following the table are explanations for each of the consumer taxes and historical changes to their rates. Sales Taxes “Sales” taxes in Illinois are actually…
In 2011 the Civic Federation blog provided weekly context, information and perspective on government budgets and fiscal issues across Illinois. Posts in 2011 focused on FY2012 local government budget analysis and the severe challenges facing local government pension funds, as well as a series of recommendations for improving the fiscal sustainability of the City of Chicago and Cook…
In 2011 the IIFS blog provided weekly context, information and perspective on key fiscal issues in the State of Illinois. Posts in 2011 focused on analysis of FY2012 Illinois budget negotiations, analysis of the ongoing Illinois pension crisis and timely research on other fiscal issues impacting the State of Illinois. The following is a selection of the year’s posts. Analysis of…
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, DuPage County, City of Chicago, Cook County, Chicago Transit Authority, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and Chicago Park District.…
This week marks the end of the Civic Federation's fiscal year 2012 local government budget analysis season. The nine local governments monitored by the Civic Federation include: City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, DuPage County, City of Chicago, Cook County, Chicago Transit Authority, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago…
In its Recommendations for a Financially Sustainable City of Chicago, the Civic Federation recommended that the City’s election function be transferred to Cook County. Consolidated election administration is the norm in Illinois. The Federation identified two primary benefits of such a merger: it would be more user-friendly and reduce voter confusion about which lines to stand in for early voting…
The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2012 include public pension reform, requiring the State of Illinois to develop and implement a capital improvement plan, dissolving the Illinois International Port District, creating a new governing board for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, requiring all counties to hold budget hearings and large counties to produce timely annual audits…
The Civic Federation supports the proposed FY2012 City of Chicago budget of nearly $6.3 billion because it takes effective action to reduce the City’s structural deficit through significant expenditure reductions and targeted revenue increases. The proposed budget greatly reduces the City’s reliance on one-time revenue sources to close the $635.7 million budget gap. It prudently does not contain…
