The Civic Federation supports the $425.6 million Chicago Park District budget for continuing the District’s multi-year effort to reduce its structural deficit. The proposal includes a broad-based property tax increase after eight years of…
Legislative action on reducing the State of Illinois’ massive pension obligations could come as soon as next week, but the details of the latest pension reform proposal and its potential impact on the State’s financial condition have not…
UPDATE: On January 7, 2014, Governor Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 1523 into law. The provisions of Public Act 98-0622 will go into effect starting January 1,…
This article discusses the City’s practice of “scoop and toss,” which refunds bonds to reduce current year payments by pushing off large principal debt payments to future years and increasing the total cost of borrowing. The Civic…
Pension Contribution Increase in FY2015 Threatens to Derail Fiscal Progress In a report released today, the Civic Federation announced its support for the City of Chicago’s proposed $7.0 billion budget as a reasonable short-term plan that…
The Civic Federation supports the City of Chicago’s proposed $7.0 billion budget as a reasonable short-term plan that closes approximately two-thirds of a $338.7 million budget gap with structural changes that will continue to reduce the…
On October 25, 2013, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the CTA’s bond rating to A1 from Aa3 and lowered its…
This report uses nine indicators of financial condition to measure the relative financial performance of Chicago and 12 other major U.S. cities from FY2007 to FY2011. In addition to Chicago, the other cities analyzed were Baltimore, Boston…
In a report released today, the Civic Federation supports the $178.8 million FY2014 budget proposed by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. The budget holds the property tax levy flat and maintains substantial reserve funds.…
