This editorial assesses the troubles facing the State of Illinois if it does not overhaul its public pension systems. The Civic Federation estimates that every Illinois resident owes $6,031 to the pension system.
The Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund accumulated nearly $5.4 billion in unfunded obligations over the past ten years. This was an increase of over 10,000%, from $5.1 million in FY2001 to $5.4 billion in FY2010. In three years alone, from…
This article discusses the funding issues the Cook County pension fund is facing, including a 60 percent funding status. The Civic Federation says that if a pension falls under 70 percent funded status, it may be necessary for a government…
Findings in a report from Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas that show that the County owes $108 billion in accrued debt is the focus of this article. The Civic Federation says the report is a good contribution to the debate over local…
The Civic Federation released today a comprehensive set of forty recommendations to improve the City of Chicago’s long-term fiscal condition. The new Federation report includes reforms that can be implemented now and over the next few…
The purpose of this report is to provide the City of Chicago’s Mayor and City Council with detailed recommendations on ways to address the City’s serious financial challenges and create a government that is more efficient, less costly and…
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…
An actuarial projection of the future solvency of the Chicago Park District’s pension fund has estimated that the fund will exhaust its assets in the year 2025.…
Civic Federation President Laurence Msall discusses Governor Quinn’s FY2012 budget and pension reform in this roundtable discussion.
The Civic Federation opposes Governor Pat Quinn’s $52.7 billion FY2012 recommended operating budget for the State of Illinois because it is unbalanced by approximately $2.4 billion and is based on the premise that long-term borrowing is…
