The Civic Federation opposes the Cook County FY2008 proposed budget. The $3.2 billion budget includes a 267% increase in the county sales tax, the addition of 1,130 new positions, and other tax hikes that could generate as much as $979.8…
The Civic Federation gives qualified support to the Chicago Public Schools Recommended 5.8 billion dollar FY2008 operating budget. The District has made efforts to contain costs and improve budget transparency. However, the Civic…
The Civic Federation supports the City Colleges of Chicago's tentative $473.6 million FY2008 budget because the district will reduce its overall property tax burden, exercize fiscal restraint, and has increased the amount of time allowed…
The Civic Federation opposes the massive expansion of health care and long-term borrowing proposed in the FY2008 State budget recommendation, but offers qualified support for sale/lease of the State lottery and for reasonable revenue…
This report provides a trend analysis of indicators that measure the financial health and performance of ten major local government pension funds from 1997 to 2005. It finds a combined 16.5 billion dollars in unfunded liabilities for the…
This issue brief describes and explains the term "actuarially required contribution" (ARC) and compares the amount of annual contributions actually made to some of the major public pension funds in Illinois to their ARCs.
This issue brief describes dedicated revenue sources for state pension funds and recent proposals for dedicated revenue sources in Illinois. It then discusses important features of an effective dedicated pension revenue source.
The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2007 include public pension reform, property tax exemptions and assessment reform, revision of the Regional Transportation Authority Act, tax increment financing disclosure, timely county…
The Civic Federation offers qualified support for Cook County’s FY2007 Budget based on the County’s plan to meet its 502 million dollar budget deficit with substantial spending cuts rather than tax increases. The Civic Federation opposes,…
The Civic Federation supported the MWRD's FY2007 Budget because it minimizes the burden on taxpayers and implements sound financial planning techniques. Notably, the MWRD has adopted a policy establishing an irrevocable trust for funding…