Pensions

.

What the New CPS Budget Means for Teachers and Students

This segment on the news program “Eight Forty-Eight” examines Chicago Public Schools’ proposed FY2010 budget and the District’s underfunded pension system. It features an interview with Civic Federation President Laurence Msall, who says…

.

It’s Up to Mike

This in-depth profile of Mike Madigan, Speaker of the Illinois House, cites Civic Federation research into Illinois’ public employee pension system, which indicates the system has $73.4 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.

.

Is Illinois' New Budget Balanced?

More details are finally available on the FY2010 operating budget, and it would be difficult to describe it as balanced—even on paper. Depending on how you look at it, there is technically either a $157 million deficit or an $872 million…

.

City Colleges of Chicago FY2010 Tentative Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the $492.1 million City Colleges of Chicago FY2010 budget because it is a prudent spending plan that both holds the District’s property tax levy flat over the next two years and compensates for…

.

New Borrowing Worsens Future Budget Strains

 Over the years, Illinois’ poorly funded retirement systems have put an enormous strain on the State’s budget. At times, the State has chosen to simply avoid the burden by making smaller contributions to the pension funds than…

.

Taxpayers beware: Game is on this week

In this column, Steve Huntley explores the deadlock in Springfield over the State of Illinois budget. He cites the Civic Federation’s analysis of Governor Quinn’s proposed budget, which advocated state employee pension and health care…

.

State of Illinois FY2010 Recommended Operating and Capital Budgets

The Civic Federation's Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability produced this analysis of the proposed FY2010 Illinois operating and capital budgets. The Civic Federation does not support the proposed operating budget because it…

.

Civic Federation Commends Quinn for Courageous Step Toward Pension Reform

Urges General Assembly to Reject Proposed Illinois Budget CHICAGO (May 11, 2009)—The Civic Federation rejects Governor Pat Quinn’s proposed $52.9 billion FY2010 operating budget because it raises taxes without fixing the state’s core…

.

Status of Local Pension Funding Fiscal Year 2007: An Evaluation of Ten Local Government Employee Pension Funds in Cook County

This report provides a trend analysis of indicators that measure the financial health and performance of ten major local government pension funds from 1998 to 2007, the most recent year for which audited data are available. It finds that…

.

Local Public Pensions in Trouble Before Recession and Stock Market Crash: Civic Federation

While the ten major local government employee pension funds in Cook County experienced a slight decrease in their total deficit before the onset of recession in late 2007, the Civic Federation has found that local pension funds were in…