Two of the three major rating agencies have cut the State of Illinois’ bond ratings due to its ongoing budget crisis and worsening financial condition. These downgrades make Illinois the only state credit currently rated below the ‘A’ category and signal a weakened capacity for the government to meet its financial obligations. Both downgrades come on the heels of the announcement by the State…
The City of Chicago’s FY2016 budget proposes to implement a monthly solid waste removal fee of $9.50 on households, which is projected to generate $62.7 million in new revenue.[1] Currently the City of Chicago spends approximately $244 million per year on solid waste removal services. The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation currently provides solid waste removal services free of charge…
This article reviews the Civic Federation’s analysis of the FY2016 City of Chicago Budget released October 14 in advance of a City Council hearing on the budget. The analysis supported the budget for addressing the City’s public safety pension funding crisis, but urged the City to consider greater cost savings and efficiencies to minimize the future burden on taxpayers.
This segment discusses the Civic Federation’s FY2016 City of Chicago Budget Analysis released on October 14. The analysis supported the budget for addressing the City’s public safety pension funding crisis, but warned that there is no public plan for two significant potential FY2016 expenses: inaction on Senate Bill 777 and a court ruling against the City over the phase-out of its retiree…
This article covers the Civic Federation’s October 14 analysis of the FY2016 City of Chicago budget. The Federation supports a proposed property tax hike of $544.2 million over four years to address the City’s public safety pension funding crisis, but warns greater sacrifice will be needed due to continued deficit projections for the City of Chicago, liquidity issues and future deficit…
With Illinois operating without a budget for more than three months, concerns have arisen about whether the State is going to run out of money. The simple answer is no—at least not in the way that running out of money is typically understood. Despite the lack of a budget since fiscal year 2016 began on July 1, 2015, money is still going into the State’s checking accounts. However, this revenue…
Cautions that plan is subject to significant uncertainty pending decisions on pension and retiree health care reform In a report released today, the Civic Federation announced its support for the City of Chicago’s proposed FY2016 budget of $7.8 billion and applauded long overdue action to address the City’s public safety pension funding crisis. However, the Federation is concerned the property…
The Civic Federation supports the City of Chicago’s proposed $7.8 billion budget and necessary property tax increase as a long overdue action to address the City’s public safety pension funding crisis. The total proposed property tax increase of $544.2 million over four years will be dedicated entirely to fund the Police and Fire pension funds. This unprecedented infusion of property taxes is a…
On September 22, 2015, Mayor Rahm Emanuel released the City of Chicago FY2016 Budget, which includes a nearly $1.3 billion property tax levy, an increase of $427.7 million over the originally adopted FY2015 budget. The property tax levy would be dedicated to the Police and Fire pension funds. In addition, the Mayor has proposed a property tax exemption that would exclude homeowners of homes with…
This piece analyzes the property tax increase and corresponding homeowner exemptions proposed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel as part of the FY2016 City budget. The Chicago Tribune’s analysis concluded owners of large rental buildings and smaller non-owner occupied rentals could see large tax increases. The Civic Federation is concerned the proposed exemptions will in effect shift the tax burden to…
