This article discusses State of Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford’s resistance to proposals by State lawmakers to borrow to pay the State’s backlog of unpaid bills. The Civic Federation says that borrowing won’t ease the backlog and will…
This article examines the various disagreements over plans of how, and if, to borrow to pay off the State of Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills. The Civic Federation says that borrowing will worsen the State’s fiscal outlook.
Surprising as it may seem, not all budget cuts reduce spending. A case in point is the FY2012 Medicaid budget passed by the Illinois House on May 13, 2011.…
As explained previously in this blog a key indicator the Civic Federation uses to assess the financial health of local governments is the level of unreserved…
In this article about the first budget cuts City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has made to help restore solvency to the City’s finances, the Civic Federation says that the cuts are a good first step, but deeper reductions must be made to…
This editorial about the fiscal condition of the State of Illinois cites the Civic Federation’s analysis of…
This article discusses how City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel may confront the City’s major budget issues. The Civic Federation explains that the problems were exacerbated by a long-standing unwillingness to reduce spending. The Federation…
This article discusses the issues City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel must confront as he works to restore fiscal health to the City’s finances. The Civic Federation says that the City must reduce personnel costs and adequately fund its…
A new report estimates that the State of Illinois could save between $260 million and $300 million in FY2012 by increasing the…
This article compares fire department staffing levels in Chicago to other large American cities and finds that the City of Chicago’s staffing level ranks third, behind New York City and Philadelphia. The Civic Federation says that the City…
