A critical fiscal process for state and local governments is the planning and funding of capital projects. The literature on best practices for capital budgeting is not as robust as for operating budgets and there is significant variety in…
The cancellation of Chicago Park District Fourth of July fireworks displays due to costs is the focus of this article. The Civic Federation says the cancellation of the displays demonstrates the dire financial straits the City is in, but…
This article discusses some of the actions made by the State of Illinois General Assembly during the spring legislative session. The article cites Civic Federation data that showed debt dedicated to the State's pension system has exceeded…
This article discusses increases to health insurance premiums paid by City of Chicago retirees. The Civic Federation says that the City should create a retiree healthcare trust fund.
After several significant budget related initiatives failed to advance out of the General Assembly, such as proposed…
This article discusses State of Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford’s resistance to proposals by State lawmakers to borrow to pay the State’s backlog of unpaid bills. The Civic Federation says that borrowing won’t ease the backlog and will…
This article examines the various disagreements over plans of how, and if, to borrow to pay off the State of Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills. The Civic Federation says that borrowing will worsen the State’s fiscal outlook.
Surprising as it may seem, not all budget cuts reduce spending. A case in point is the FY2012 Medicaid budget passed by the Illinois House on May 13, 2011.…
As explained previously in this blog a key indicator the Civic Federation uses to assess the financial health of local governments is the level of unreserved…
In this article about the first budget cuts City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has made to help restore solvency to the City’s finances, the Civic Federation says that the cuts are a good first step, but deeper reductions must be made to…
