March 18, 2014
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Board of Directors of the Civic Federation are pleased to announce a conference on how municipalities in Illinois can avoid or resolve fiscal stress. The half-day conference will take place on Wednesday, April 23rd in the Conference Center at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 230 S. LaSalle Street. The event will start at 8:00 a.m. and conclude with a luncheon ending at 1:30 p.m.
After Detroit: How will Illinois and its Communities Respond? will feature a luncheon keynote address by City of Detroit Chief Financial Officer John Hill. Jointly appointed by Detroit’s Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr and then-Mayor-elect Mike Duggan, Mr. Hill is a well-respected accountant and municipal finance expert with experience assisting distressed municipalities. He previously served as the first Executive Director of the D.C. Financial Control Board, which took over operations of the nation’s capital when it faced its own financial crisis between 1995 and 2011. Mr. Hill will talk about Detroit’s experience under bankruptcy, its fiscal future and his experience restructuring Washington, D.C.’s finances and operations.
The event will start with opening remarks by Professor Robert Inman of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania about the lessons observers can learn from past fiscal crises in New York City and Philadelphia. The first panel on Chicago’s fiscal condition will feature City of Chicago Chief Financial Officer Lois Scott, Civic Federation Board member and President and CEO of Merritt Research Richard Ciccarone and Stuart Buck, Vice President of Research Integrity for the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.
The second panel will explore how states help and hinder local governments through the different intervention structures and policies they have in place. Both the national perspective on state fiscal intervention and trends in state aid to local governments as well as a specific proposal for an Illinois authority to assist municipalities in distress will be presented. Panelists include James Spiotto, Civic Federation Board member and Managing Director of Chapman Strategic Advisors, Stephen Fehr of the Pew Center and Professor Michael Pagano of UIC.
Registration is now open for this half-day event. Space is limited and the conference is expected to sell out.