Among the many challenges facing City of Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel when he takes office May 16 is the precarious state of the City’s finances. The City has a large and increasing direct debt load that could be a major indicator of…
In this news segment about the City of Chicago's budget troubles, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall explains that the City must make tough choices to create a sustainable budget. Mr. Msall was a guest on WBBM's "At Issue" weekend…
The Pew Center on the States recently released its report card on the health of state pension systems. Just as they were last year, the…
Governor Pat Quinn’s recommended FY2012 budget for the State of Illinois proposes that General Funds appropriations for the State Employees’ Group Insurance…
This article is about the City of Chicago's plan to replenish $50 million into its reserve fund due to slightly better-than-projected tax receipts. The Civic Federation says that despite the modestly good news, the City must still fill a $…
Although the State of Illinois' FY2011 tax amnesty program brought in more than $700 million of delinquent tax payments owed by taxpayers and business, only $12 million of that revenue can be considered new funds. As previously discussed…
The three largest municipal governments analyzed by the Civic Federation are the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the City of Chicago and Cook County. All three began their FY2011 budget processes projecting large budget shortfalls:…
General Funds represent the largest component of the State of Illinois budget and are mainly used to support the regular operating and administrative expenses of state agencies through annual appropriations by the General Assembly.…
The Civic Federation analyzes the budgets of nine Chicago area local governments. One important indicator that the Federation utilizes to assess the financial health of these municipalities is their fund balance level. In particular, we…
In this interview, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall and Chicago 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack discuss Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel’s proposal to reduce the size of the Chicago City Council. Mr. Msall says that the City…
