Glossary

This growing glossary contains common terms used in Civic Federation research, reports and blog posts. 

A

ACA Expansion: The expansion of Medicaid eligibility authorized under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), allowing coverage for non-elderly adults with incomes below 133% of the Federal Poverty Level.  

Actuarial Accrued Liability (AAL): Also referred to simply as accrued liability, this is a retirement plan’s projected benefit obligation due to past service by employees and retirees as of the valuation date. It reflects the present value of future pension benefits already earned, not benefits based on future service. 

Actuarially Determined Contribution (ADC): The amount that a government should contribute to a pension fund annually through its employer contribution, as determined by a pension plan’s actuary, in order to fully fund a pension fund over a set period of time. Although not a legally required contribution amount, it is used as a benchmark for responsible pension funding. 

Actuarial Liability: A retirement system’s projected benefit obligation due to past service by employees and retirees.

Actuarial Value of Assets: A method of reporting the value of pension assets that mitigates the effects of short-term market volatility by recognizing each year’s investment gains or losses over a period of three to five years.  

Across-the-Board Cuts: Uniform spending reductions applied equally to all departments, regardless of performance or priority. 

Adjusted EAV: The taxable value of property after relevant exemptions have been applied. 

Appropriation: Spending authority from a specific fund for a specific amount, purpose and time period. [2]

Assessment Level: The percentage of full value at which property is being assessed.

Assessment Ratio: The ratio of the assessed value of the property to the sale price. In Cook County, residential property is assessed at 10% of market value, and commercial/industrial property is valued at 25% of market value. 

Assessed Value (AV): The dollar amount certified by assessing officials as the value of property for real estate tax purposes.  In Cook County, the assessed value should be a certain percentage of the property’s market value, depending on the classification of that particular parcel of property. [4]

At Par: A Bond prices at par when it sells for exactly its principal. 

B

Backloaded Debt: A debt repayment structure in which a larger share of the principal  is paid later int he life of the debt, resulting in lower principal payments upfront and higher payments in later years. 

Benefits Improvement and Protection Act (BIPA) Payments: Supplemental Medicaid payments from the federal government to states and providers designed to improve coverage and offset uncompensated care costs.  

Blight: A statutory designation based on the presence of specific physical or economic conditions that are deemed detrimental to public safety, health, or welfare.  

Budget Monitoring: The ongoing comparison of actual revenues and expenditures to budgeted amounts throughout a government’s fiscal year to track performance and make adjustments as needed in order to mitigate budget gaps. 

Budget Process: The structured sequence of planning, developing, approving, and monitoring a government’s financial plan for each fiscal/budget year. 

Budgetary Reserves: Funds set aside to address emergencies, revenue shortfalls, or unforeseen expenses. 

Budget Transparency: The extent to which a government provides clear, accessible, and comprehensive financial information to the public and stakeholders. 

But-For Test: The statutory requirement that redevelopment would not reasonably occur without the assistance provided through TIF.  

C

Capital Improvement Plan (CIP): A multi-year plan that identifies capital projects - typically infrastructure and maintenance projects - that a government plans to complete over a set amount of time. A CIP typically prioritizes projects, identifies costs and funding sources, and lays out a schedule for projects and investments. 

Capitation Revenues: Payments received by a healthcare provider or managed care organization (MCO) on a per-member-per-month (PMPM) basis, regardless of the number of services provided. The amount is generally set by the state and varies by enrollee characteristics.  

Charity Care: Free or reduced-price medical care provided by hospitals and health care providers to patients unable to pay.  

Collective Bargaining Agreements: Contracts negotiated between government employers and labor unions that determine wages, benefits, and working conditions. 

Composite Tax Rate: The sum of the tax rates of individual taxing districts within a tax code. 

Continuing Appropriation: (State of Illinois) Statutory authority for the Comptroller and Treasurer to spend funds in the event the legislature fails to appropriate or appropriates an insufficient amount for a specific purpose. Examples of continuing appropriations are for debt service on State bonds or for payments to State retirement systems. [3]

Continuing Services Ratio: This indicator measures unrestricted net assets for all funds as a percentage of expenses for all funds. The ratio reflects the degree to which unrestricted net assets can support continuing government services.

CountyCare: Cook County’s Medicaid managed care organization (MCO), which enrolls eligible members, receives capitation payments, and pays for healthcare services.  

Cost Containment Strategies: Policies and practices aimed at controlling or reducing government spending. 

Credit Rating: An official assessment of the level of risk involved in lending to a government. Governments with higher credit ratings are considered less risky and therefore tend to get lower yields on their debt issuances, reducing the cost of borrowing. 

D

Debt Load: The overall amount of debt a government carries, as measured by the outstanding principal of all issuances. 

Debt per Capita Ratio: The ratio of a government's debt load to the number of people under its jurisdiction. 

Debt Refinancing: The practice of replacing old debt with new debt, typically with a goal of reducing costs and lowering yields. 

Debt Service: The scheduled payments a government is required to make each year to repay its debt obligations, including both principal and interest. [3]

Debt Service Expenditure Ratio: This indicator measures debt service expenditure, which includes principal retirement, interest and other fiscal charges made in the current fiscal year, as a percentage of total governmental fund expenditures. The ratio can be used to assess service flexibility with the amount of expenses committed to annual debt service.

Debt Service Schedule: The plan of repayment of a bond's principal and interest over time. 

Defined Benefit Plan: A type of pension plan in which employers and employees annually contribute fixed amounts to investments intended to cover future benefit payments. Upon retirement, the employee receives an annuity based upon his or her highest salary (usually based on an average of several years) and length of service. If the amounts contributed to the plan over the term of the employee’s employment (plus accrued earnings) are insufficient to support the benefits (including health and survivor’s benefits), the former employer is required to pay the difference.

Defined Contribution Plan: A type of pension plan in which the employee and the employer contribute fixed amounts. Upon retirement, the employee receives an annuity and interest based upon the amount contributed to the plan over the term of his or her employment. Once the employee retires, the employer has no further liability to the employee (except, perhaps, for ancillary health benefits). Two common examples of defined contribution plans are 401(k) and 403(b) plans, named after the governing sections of the Federal tax code.

Directed Payments: Supplemental Medicaid payments directed by the state to safety-net providers, above and beyond standard payments, to support essential healthcare services for low-income populations.  

Discount (Bonds): A bond prices at a discount when the investor buys it for less cash upfront than the principal. 

Discount Rate: The assumed rate of return on investment used to determine the present value of future pension obligations. The discount rate is used to calculate unfunded pension liabilities, as well as how much an employer needs to contribute to cover the cost of future benefits. A lower discount rate assumes a lower rate of return, which carries less risk of investment losses. A higher discount rate carries higher risk. Reducing the discount rate increases the present value of future commitments because investments are not assumed to make as much money, which results in higher unfunded liabilities and lower funded ratios. 

Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) Payments: Federal and state payments to hospitals that serve a large number of low-income and uninsured patients, intended to help offset the cost of uncompensated care.  

E

Economic Cycle: The natural fluctuation of economic activity between periods of growth and contraction. 

Effective Property Tax Rates: A measure of property tax burden for homeowners and businesses. They translate the tax rates on property tax bills into rates that reflect the percentage of full market value that a property owed in taxes for a given year.

Eligible Redevelopment Costs: Costs authorized by statute to be paid with TIF revenues, including land acquisition, site preparation, public infrastructure, and certain financing costs.  

Equalized Assessed Value (EAV): The EAV is the taxable value of property. In Illinois it is determined by multiplying the assessed value of property as determined by assessing officials by the county equalization factor. [4]

Excise Taxes: Taxes on the sale, manufacture, or use of specific goods, services, or activities, often included in the price paid by consumers. Examples include taxes on motor fuel, tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, or amusements. 

Exemptions: The Illinois Constitution permits the General Assembly to grant property tax exemptions that reduce or eliminate a property’s taxable value, thereby lowering the amount of property tax owed. These exemptions are typically designed to provide financial relief to certain groups of property owners or to encourage certain land uses. 

Expenditure Forecasting: The practice of projecting future government spending over a specific period based on past trends, current policies, and anticipated changes in staffing, salaries, programs, population, or economic conditions, to inform budgeting, financial planning, and policy decisions. 

F

Federal Funds: (State of Illinois) Accounts that use federal revenues (other than those designated for General Funds) to support a variety of state programs.

Federal Medical Assistance Percentage: Known as FMAP. The rate at which the federal government reimburses a state for its Medicaid expenditures.

Fee for Service: A payment model in which healthcare providers are reimbursed individually for each service or treatment provided to patients, instead of receiving a fixed amount per enrollee.  

Financial Policies: Formal guidelines adopted by a government to govern financial decision-making. Examples of common policies include guidelines for maintaining appropriate reserves and use of excess reserves, debt management, investment strategies, and revenue use. 

Financial Sustainability: The ability of a government to maintain services and meet obligations over the long term without fiscal distress. 

Fiscal Impact on Taxpayers: The effect of TIF on property tax rates and burdens, resulting from the freezing of EAV and the diversion of incremental revenues during the life of the district.  

Frontloaded Debt: A debt repayment structure which a larger share of the principal is paid later in the life of the debt, resulting in lower principal payments upfront and higher payments in later years. 

Frozen EAV (Base EAV): The total EAV of property within a TIF district at the time of designation; this amount continues to be shared by all overlapping taxing bodies during the life of the TIF.  

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE): A calculated measure of full-time employment for comparison purposes, in which each full-time employee works 37.5 hours per week for 52 weeks per year. [3]

Fund Balance Ratio: This indicator measures unrestricted General Fund fund balance as a percentage of General Fund operating revenues or expenditures. The ratio represents savings that the government has accumulated. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommends that governments maintain unrestricted fund balance in their general fund of no less than two months of regular general fund operating revenues or regular general fund operating expenditures, which is approximately 17%.

Funded Ratio: The percentage of a retirement system’s actuarial liability that is covered by a system’s assets.

G

General Funds: (State of Illinois) Accounts that support the regular operating and administrative expenses of most State agencies and over which the State has the most control. The General Funds consist of the General Revenue Fund, the Education Assistance Fund, the Common School Fund and the General Revenue-Common School Special Account Fund.

General Obligation (GO) Bonds: Bonds that paid for out of the governments general revenue sources, such as taxes, fines, fees, and funding from other governments. Backed by the 'full faith and credit of the issuing government'.

General State Aid: An unrestricted formula-driven grant that comprises the largest portion of State assistance to local school districts. The amount of funds a district receives depends on its financial need measured by three factors: its average daily attendance, its equalized assessed valuation of property and its local tax measured by its statutory tax rate. [3]

Graduate Medical Education (GME) Payments: Funds provided for hospitals to support costs associated with training medical residents.  

H

Healthcare Cost Sharing: The portion of healthcare expenses paid by employees through premiums, deductibles, or copayments. 

Health Enterprise Fund: A proprietary fund used by Cook County to account for and report its public health operations, including insurance programs and direct health service delivery. In government accounting, proprietary funds are used to report business-type activities that are supported primarily through user fees and charges for services, rather than taxes.  

Hybrid Plan: A type of pension plan that offers a combined defined benefit and defined contribution to employees.

Home Rule: A home rule unit of government is one that is permitted to do anything not expressly prohibited by the Illinois Constitution or statutes. Article VII of the Illinois Constitution designates as a home rule government any municipality with a population over 25,000, any municipality that has adopted home rule by referendum, and a county with a chief executive officer (i.e., Cook). All special districts including school districts, community college districts, forest preserve districts, park districts, townships and sanitary districts are non-home rule. Non-home rule units of government are only allowed to take actions explicitly permitted by the Illinois Constitution and statutes. [1]

I

Increment: The increase in equalized assessed value of property within a TIF district. Taxes levied on the increment are used to pay for TIF projects. [4]

Infrastructure: Physical and capital assets or systems (e.g., public transportation, roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, public buildings) that provide essential public services and economic functioning. 

Interest: Also known as 'the cost of borrowing,' interest is the amount a borrower agrees to pay investors in exchange for the use of borrowed money. It is typically a percentage of the unpaid principal. 

Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA): A contractual arrangement through which TIF revenues are transferred to other local governments for eligible public purposes, such as school or transit projects.  

Investment Grade Rating: An investment grade bond is rated BB+ or higher and considered to be relatively low-risk by credit ratings agencies. 

Investment Rate of Return: A percentage measurement of investment performance each year. Civic Federation uses a modified Rate of Return calculation that assumes all cash flows (fund contributions, benefits payments, and administrative expenses) occur at the middle of the year. This accounts for the fact that not all funds tracked by Civic Federation follow the same fiscal year. This calculation differs from the standard time-weighted return typically reported by investment managers.    

Investor: The entity that is buying bonds. Usually a large investment firm or syndicate of firms. 

Issuer: The entity that is selling bonds. Usually a state of local government. 

J

Joint Review Board (JRB): A body composed of representatives from overlying taxing districts that reviews and provides advisory input on the creation and amendment of TIF districts.  

Junk Status Rating:  Junk status bonds are considered to be below investment grade by the rating agencies. Governments offering junk status bonds are thought to have a notable risk of inability to pay back principal. Many types of institutional investors are not legally allowed to invest in junk bonds, making the overall market for junk-rated municipal bonds smaller then the market for investment grade bonds. For all of these reasons

L

Lapse Period: (State of Illinois) The period following the end of the State’s fiscal year on June 30 during which agencies can liquidate liabilities incurred before the end of that fiscal year.

Level of Assessment: Ratio of assessed value to the sale price.

Level Debt Service: A Debt repayment structure in which the issuer pays roughly the same total mount of principal and interest each year over the lifetime of the debt. 

Levy: A tax levy is the amount of property tax revenue a taxing district initially requests from taxpayers. The taxing district submits the levy request to the county clerk, who then calculates tax rates and finalizes tax extensions (final amounts billed to property owners).

Limited GO Bonds: GO bonds that are backed by the full faith and credit of the issuer, but put limitations on the issuing governments ability to raise taxes or other revenue sources to pay off the debt. Generally considered to be more risky than unlimited GO bonds. 

Line Item: Specific purpose of an appropriation, such as personal services, retirement, printing or travel. [3]

Long-Term Financial Planning (LTFP): A multi-year process that forecasts revenues, expenditures, and risks to guide strategic decision-making and ensure fiscal sustainability. 

Lump sum: Appropriation line for a general program purpose without specific line items identified. [3]

M

Managed Care Organization (MCO): A healthcare entity that provides or arranges for health services to enrolled members and is paid a fixed per-member-per-month amount by Medicaid or other insurers.  

Managed Competition: A form of alternative service delivery that requires in-house service units of a government to compete with external providers under a controlled or managed process.

Managed Long-Term Services and Support (MLTSS): A Medicaid program providing long-term care and support (such as home and community-based services) using a managed care delivery system.  

Market Saturation: A condition where growth in a revenue source (e.g., gambling) is limited due to over-expansion within that market. 

Market Value of Assets: A method of reporting the value of pension assets that recognizes unrealized gains and losses immediately in the current year and can produce significant fluctuation year-to-year. This measure is subject to volatility in the market.

Medicaid: A joint federal-state program that finances healthcare for certain categories of low-income people, including children, pregnant women, the elderly and the disabled.

Medical Loss Ratio (MLR): The ratio of clinical claims expenses paid out to capitation revenues received. A higher MLR means more is spent on patient care relative to revenue.  

N

Net Assets: A government’s net assets are the difference between all its assets and all its liabilities. Net assets are reported in three categories: invested in capital assets (net of related debt), restricted and unrestricted. The first category shows the value of capital assets minus the outstanding debt that was incurred to build the assets. Restricted net assets are limited to a specific purpose, such as activities funded by grants from other governments or revenues set aside for payment of debt service. Unrestricted net assets are the net assets not included in the other two categories and can generally be used for any purpose. They are not necessarily cash assets and may in fact be a negative number, or deficit, because they include offsetting liabilities. For example, large unfunded pensions or retiree health care liabilities may contribute to an unrestricted net assets deficit even though those long-term liabilities are not all due in the current year.

Net Patient Services Revenue (NPSR): Revenues received from patient care services billed to Medicaid, Medicare, private insurers, and individual payers for treatments at healthcare facilities.  

Non-Home Rule Governments: Non-home rule units of government are only allowed to take actions explicitly permitted by the Illinois Constitution and statutes. All special districts, including school districts, community college districts, forest preserve districts, park districts, townships, and sanitary districts, are non-home rule. There are two major limitations placed on non-home rule taxing districts’ ability to raise revenue through property taxation: fund rate limits and PTELL tax caps.  

Normal Cost: The portion of the cost of projected pension benefits allocated to the current plan year. The normal cost is computed differently under different funding methods. The employer normal cost equals the total normal cost reduced by employee contributions. [3]

O

One-Time Revenues: Non-recurring revenue sources (e.g., asset sales or issuing bonds to generate immediate budgetary savings) that should not be used to fund ongoing operations. 

Operating Deficit Ratio: This indicator measures the General Fund surplus or deficit as a percentage of total operating expenses. The ratio reflects the difference between revenues and expenditures in completed fiscal years, or on an actual basis and not a budgeted basis.

Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB): Non-pension benefits provided to employees after employment ends. OPEB includes health insurance coverage for retirees and their families, dental insurance, life insurance and term care coverage. It does not include termination benefits such as accrued sick leave and vacation.

Other State Funds: (State of Illinois) Accounts for activities funded by specific revenue sources that may only be used for specific purposes.

Overlying (Overlapping) Taxing Districts: Local governments and school districts that levy property taxes within a TIF district but do not receive revenues from the increment.  

Overtime Budgeting: The practice of accurately estimating and funding employee overtime expenses within the budget. 

P

Payer Mix: The proportion of patients by insurance status (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, uninsured) treated by a healthcare provider, which affects revenues and uncompensated care costs.  

Performance Measures: Metrics used to assess the efficiency, effectiveness, and outcomes of government programs and services. 

Porting of TIF Funds: The transfer of revenues between contiguous TIF districts, permitted under Illinois law to cover eligible redevelopment costs.  

Premium (Bonds): A bond prices at a a premium when the investor buys it for more cash upfront than the principal. 

Principal: The amount of money borrowed by an issuer of debt, which it must repay the creditor by the end of the debts term. 

Price of a Bond: The price of a bond is the amount that an investor pays the issuer upfront to purchase a bond. Note that the bonds price is not necessarily equal to the principal - the price may be above or below the bond's principal (par value) depending on market conditions, interest rates, and investor demand. 

Property Tax Levy: The property tax levy is the amount of property tax revenue a unit of local government or taxing district requests from taxpayers. [1]

Property Tax Extension: The property tax extension is the final amount of property tax revenue that a unit of local government is authorized to receive and that is billed to taxpayers. [1]

Property Tax Rate: Property tax rates are calculated using two primary pieces of information: the Equalized Assessed Value (EAV), or taxable value of property, and the taxing district’s levy, which is the amount of property tax revenue the district requests from taxpayers. Conceptually, a property tax rate = levy ÷ EAV. [1]

Property Tax Relief: Policies designed to reduce the burden of property taxes on taxpayers, particularly homeowners. 

Provider Taxes: Assessments or fees imposed by states on hospitals and managed care organizations (MCOs). These funds are often used to support Medicaid financing, including supplemental payments such as directed payments.  

PTELL: Illinois’ property tax extension limitation law which limits property tax levy increases to 5% of the rate of inflation, whichever is less.

Public Engagement: Processes that involve stakeholders and residents in budget decisions and strategic planning. 

Public Procurement (Purchasing): The process by which governments acquire goods and services, governed by rules to ensure fairness, transparency, and efficiency. 

Procurement Policy: Guidelines governing how governments purchase goods and services. 

R

Reappropriation: (State of Illinois) An unspent appropriation that continues into the next fiscal year, typically for a capital or multi-year project or liability. [3]

Redetermination: The periodic review process by states to determine if Medicaid participants still meet eligibility criteria.  

Redevelopment Plan and Project: A legally required document outlining the conditions justifying TIF designation, planned improvements, eligible costs, and anticipated fiscal impacts.  

Redevelopment Project Area (RPA): The statutory term used in Illinois law to describe a TIF district.  

Referendum: A measure proposed or passed by a legislative body that is referred to the vote of the electorate for approval or rejection.

Revenue Bonds: Debt that is repaid using a dedicated source of revenue, typically generated for a specific project or service. For example, tolls, user fees, or water/sewer fees may be used to repay revenue bonds, rather than general tax revenues. 

Revenue Diversification: The practice of generating multiple revenue sources to reduce reliance on any single revenue stream, thereby  improving a government’s financial stability. 

Revenue Forecasting: Estimates of future government revenues based on economic conditions and policy assumptions. 

S

Safety Net Provider: A healthcare provider - usually a hospital or clinic - that delivers care to patients regardless of their ability to pay, including a disproportionate share of uninsured and low-income individuals.  

Scoop and Toss: The practice of refinancing to avoid making short-term debt payments by backloading or extending the lifetime of the initial debt issuance. Typically considered a poor fiscal approach and frowned upon by credit rating agencies.

Service Baseline: An inventory of government services, including a consideration of costs, performance, and demand, used to inform budget decisions.  

Shared Costs: Expenses (e.g., benefits, facilities) allocated across departments rather than assigned to a single program. 

Sin Taxes: Excise taxes on goods or activities considered harmful (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, gambling), often intended to discourage use. 

Smoothed Value of Assets: A method of reporting the value of pension assets that mitigates the effects of short-term market volatility by recognizing each year’s investment gains or losses over a period of three to five years.

Spread: The difference between the yields of two different bonds. Analysts often use the spread between a given bond and the AAA municipal bond index (an index of bonds from local governments with the highest possible credit rating) to evaluate how much the issuer's risk factor is increasing their yields. 

Stakeholders: Individuals or groups affected by government decisions, including taxpayers, residents, and community organizations. 

Strategic Planning: A systematic process that is used by governments to set priorities, allocate resources, and guide long-term objectives. 

Structurally Balanced Budget: A budget in which recurring revenues equal recurring expenditures, ensuring long-term financial sustainability without reliance on one-time fixes.

Structural Deficit: A persistent gap where recurring expenditures exceed recurring revenues. 

Supplemental Appropriation: (State of Illinois) Additional spending authority given by the General Assembly during the fiscal year, following passage of the initial budget. [3]

Supplemental Payments: Payments made to health care providers on top of standard reimbursements; often intended to offset costs related to uncompensated care, training, or special services.  

Surplus TIF Funds: Revenues held in a TIF fund that are determined to be unnecessary for redevelopment obligations and may be distributed to overlying taxing bodies.  

T

Targeted Spending Cuts: Reductions focused on specific programs or areas of a government budget, or based on performance reviews, rather than uniform cuts across all departments. 

Tax Caps: Under the provisions of the Illinois Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, the levy of non-home rule governments in Illinois may only increase annually by 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. The value of new construction is not subject to the tax cap for the year in which it occurs. [4]

Tax Code: Each parcel of real estate is assigned a five-digit tax code that identifies the array of taxing districts with authority to levy property taxes on that parcel. 

Tax Levy: The total dollar amount of a local government’s annual budget appropriations which it requests to be collected in property taxes. [4]

Tax Rate: A percentage calculated by dividing a government’s final tax extension by its total EAV. [4]

Tax Extension: The amount of property tax dollars that local governments receive.  The County Clerk calculates tax extensions by: 1) multiplying the EAV of each property by the composite tax rate and 2) applying the various limitations provided by statute such as rate limits for individual funds, tax caps and prior year EAV limitations (Cook County only). Cook County collects tax extensions and remits them to local governments.  Governments receive an amount less than the total the total extension because all taxes are not collected and the County charges and administrative fee for its collection activities. [4]

Tax Increment Financing (TIF): An economic development tool intended to generate economic development activity that would not have occurred “but for” the incentives offered. TIF works by establishing a specifically defined district, using incremental growth in revenues over a frozen baseline amount to pay for redevelopment costs.  Taxing districts other than the one establishing the district (which is usually a municipality) do not have access to increases in incremental revenues over the life of the TIF district.  Once a development project is completed and has been paid for, the TIF district is dissolved and the tax base is returned to full use by all eligible taxing bodies. In Illinois, TIF is authorized for a period of up to twenty-three years, with the possibility of renewal for an additional twelve years. [4]

Tax Sale: Property tax bills that have not been paid within 13 months of the second installment bill due date are offered at an annual tax sale by the Cook County Treasurer If a property owner does not pay the tax liability in full as of the due date printed on the tax bill, an interest penalty of 0.75% per month (9% per year) will be added to the tax liability by the County. 

TIF Surplus: Excess funds generated within a TIF district in Illinois that may be redistributed to overlapping governments. 

Transparency in Collective Bargaining: The practice of publicly disclosing the fiscal impacts and terms of labor agreements. 

Transit TIF: A specialized TIF district authorized to fund transit-related improvements and subject to distinct statutory rules, including different revenue distribution requirements.  

U

Uncompensated Care: Healthcare services provided to patients who are uninsured and unable to pay, or where payments received are less than the cost of care. This includes charity care and bad debt.  

Unfunded Liability: The difference between the value of a retirement system’s actuarial liability and the value of its assets.

Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability (UAAL): Calculated by subtracting the actuarial value of the assets from the actuarial accrued liability (AAL) of each fund.

Unlimited GO Bonds: GO bonds that carry an unconditional promise to pay back the debt.

Unspent Appropriations: Funding authorizations that remain unspent because insufficient funding is available or expenses do not reach budgeted levels.

User Fees: Charges imposed for specific government services (e.g., permits, utilities), typically paid by users rather than the general public. These fees are generally intended to recover some or all of the cost of providing the service. 

V

Voucher: (State of Illinois) Document requesting payment submitted to the Comptroller, who then writes and issues a warrant. [3]

Volatility (Revenue Volatility): The degree to which a revenue source fluctuates over time due to economic conditions.  

W

Warrant: (State of Illinois) Check issued by the Comptroller to a third party who cashes it with the Treasurer. [3]

Y

Yield (Bonds): A bond's yield is its return on investment, a measure of the profitability of buying the bond for the investor. yield can be thought of as the bonds interest rate, adjusted to reflect the price that was initially paid for it. Higher prices and lower interest rates drive yields down, and lower yields are typically better for issuers. 

[1]Source: Civic Federation’s “The Cook County Property Tax Extension Process: A Primer on Levies, Tax Caps, Tax Bills and the Effects of Tax Increment Financing Districts" (September 7, 2011).

[2]Source: Illinois State FY2014 Budget, pp. 9-1 to 9-8.

[3]Source: Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, State of Illinois Budget Summary Fiscal Year 2014, August 2013, pp. 296-305.

[4]Source: Civic Federation's "Tax Increment Financing, A Civic Federation Issue Brief" (November 12, 2007).