Since July 2013 each of the six local governments monitored by the Civic Federation with General Obligation bond debt has experienced downgrades to their bond ratings. These governments are the City of Chicago, Cook County, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD), the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, the Chicago Park District and Chicago Public Schools. In the past three months…
At the end of the month, the Board of Education for Chicago Public Schools will vote on the District’s $5.6 billion operating budget for FY2014. The total budget of $6.6 billion is supported by local, state and federal revenues and other resources, including $761.6 million of appropriated fund balance. This blog focuses on the State of Illinois’ resources for CPS. The State of Illinois will…
The Civic Federation does not support the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) proposed $6.6 billion operating budget for FY2014, which completely draws down unrestricted reserve funds and uses some restricted reserves to close a $977 million budget deficit. Even after the pain of layoffs and school closings, the District’s long-term fiscal health remains in jeopardy absent pension reform. The…
This week the Civic Federation released its annual Status of Local Pension Funding report. The purpose of this report is to compile and analyze basic financial data of the retirement funds for the City of Chicago (four separate funds – Municipal, Laborers’, Police and Fire), Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools (Teachers’ Fund), Cook County, Forest Preserve District of Cook County,…
Chicago-area public employee pension funding levels dropped significantly in FY2011, with unfunded liabilities for the ten funds analyzed rising to $32.0 billion from $27.4 billion in FY2010, an increase of 16.7% according to the most recent audited data available. For all pension funds supported by the taxes of Chicago residents, including statewide funds, the total unfunded liabilities reached…
UPDATE: At its April 24, 2013 meeting, the Chicago Board of Education approved the District’s amended FY2013 capital budget. Original blog published on April 17, 2013 On April 6th Chicago Public Schools (CPS) released its plan for an amended FY2013 capital budget. The original FY2013 Capital Plan, released in May 2012, totaled $109.7 million. The proposed supplemental capital budget for FY2013…
This blog examines some of the long-term obligations of the City of Chicago and its overlapping local governments using a per capita indicator based on bonded debt and unfunded pension liabilities. Rating agencies and other financial analysts commonly monitor overlapping direct debt trends as an affordability indicator when governments consider debt issuance. The indicator reflects the premise…
On January 23, 2013, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) released its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the 2012 fiscal year. The fiscal year for CPS begins on July 1 and ends on June 30. According to the Board of Education, CPS experienced an unexpected increase in revenue at the end of its 2012 fiscal year, resulting in a net increase of $328 million in general operating fund…
A look back at the Civic Federation’s blog this year provides a preview of upcoming fiscal challenges for local governments in 2013. Pension Funding The most urgent fiscal challenge for Illinois governments continues to be the pension funding crisis. The combined funded ratio for the four City of Chicago pension funds fell to 43.3% in FY2011. The funded status of the Cook County Pension Fund…
Last week the Civic Federation marked the end of the FY2013 budget season with a blog that summarized the proposed budgets for the nine local governments the Federation monitors. These governments include: the City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), DuPage County, City of Chicago, Cook County, Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Metropolitan…
