The Civic Federation supported the FY2004 $52.4 billion State budget because it successfully eliminated a $5.4 billion deficit without any broad based tax increases. The Federation reiterated its support for the pension obligation bond issue to reduce the State’s unfunded pension liabilities, but issued a number of cautions as well.
The Civic Federation believes that the Illinois property tax Appeals Board's jurisdiction to hear property tax appeals in Cook County should be maintained. However, the Federation recommends removing the level of assessment issue from consideration in PTAB cases.
The Civic Federation supported the Governor's proposal to issue long-term debt to meet the State's past pension obligations because of the dire budget condition of the State, past funding inadequacies, nad the currently historically low interest rates. However, the Federation strongly warned against the practice of debt financing to correct ordinary budget shortfalls or to fund normal operations.
This report provides a 6-year trend analysis of indicators that measure the financial health and performance of 9 major local government pension funds from 1996 to 2001.
In a statement before the Forest Preserve Land Mangagement and Maintenance Committee, The Civic Federation reiterated management recommendations it has made over the years: focus on the core mission of acquiring, preserving, and maintaining the County's forest preserves; develop a long-term financial plan with stakeholders; use objective performance measures; and improve budget format.
The Civic Federation supported the Chicago Park District’s $338 million FY2003 budget because the budget was balanced by eliminating over 180 positions and reducing contractual service expenses rather than resorting to broad based tax increases.
County Should Immediately Implement its Own Operations Review Report, Save $129 Million Chicago) – The Civic Federation today released a summary of its testimony on the proposed Cook County FY2002 budget. The testimony will be delivered tomorrow before the County Board of Commissioners. The proposed budget is $2.7 billion and contains no tax or fee increases. It is balanced with a series of one-time expenditure reductions, such as the elimination of vacancies. However, it makes no long-term…
The Civic Federation opposed the $7.3 million property tax hike proposed by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District in its FY2003 $758 million budget.
The Civic Federation supported the proposed FY2003 $141 million budget because of the proposed expenditure reductions of nearly $7 million, the elimination of 473 positions, the implementation of management efficiencies including outsourcing of tree planting, and the transfer of a portion of the public safety function to the Sheriff’s Office and municipal police departments.
The Civic Federation commended President Stroger for proposing a $2.9 billion budget that is balanced with no broad based tax increases andcontinues a trend toward reducing reliance on property tax.
