The surprise expansion of gambling to all corners of Illinois in the form of legalized video poker that was enacted by the General Assembly has not been well received by many residents or local governments. A recent poll conducted by the Chicago Tribune showed that nearly 60% of Illinois residents opposed legalizing video poker and many counties and cities are taking advantage of a provision in…
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that more information is needed to determine whether local school districts that receive federal stimulus money from the State of Illinois are using the funds promptly, as required by federal regulations. The report stems from the GAO’s effort to track uses of funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (…
The Governor’s office recently published its first official document that included details of the revenues and expenditures approved by the General Assembly for FY2010 fiscal year. The Official Statement accompanying the sale of $1.25 billion in short term debt on August 20, 2009 includes new information on the State’s fiscal condition. It should eventually be available along with the other bond…
Governor Pat Quinn has decided that the State of Illinois will shut down its troubled Howe Developmental Center in Tinley Park and move residents to other quarters by April 2010. The decision, announced on August 28, 2009, came four months after the General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability on April 28 backed a recommendation by the Illinois Department of Human…
In this segment on the City Room news program, Civic Federation Vice-President Lise Valentine is interviewed about the Federation’s support of the Chicago Public Schools FY2010 operating budget. Ms. Valentine also points out that CPS must gain control of its ballooning pension system.
Starting today, increases in the taxation rates on soft drinks, personal grooming and hygiene products, and candy will take effect to help pay for improvements to Illinois’ infrastructure. The tax base of these three categories of merchandise will change from the low food and medicine rate of 1% to the higher general merchandise rate of 6.25%. Many municipalities add an extra tax to the base…
CHICAGO -- Citing reasonable measures taken by Chicago Public Schools to balance its $6.9 billion budget, the Civic Federation announced its support of the District’s FY2010 spending plan today. The District has cut personnel and proposed drawing down reserves and a modest increase to the CPS property tax levy to close a $473 million budget deficit, the largest since 1995. Visit civicfed.org to…
The Civic Federation supports the $6.9 billion Chicago Public Schools FY2010 proposed budget. The District employed reasonable measures to balance its budget in light of a $473 million deficit, including cuts to personnel and a proposed drawing down of reserves. The Federation also supports the District’s modest 1.5% increase to its property tax levy. Going forward, the Federation has concerns…
Today the Civic Federation released its analysis of Chicago Public Schools’ proposed FY2010 budget. On page 61 of the analysis we discuss the District’s dramatically escalating annual pension contribution costs. The District’s statutorily-required pension contribution was $177.8 million in FY2009. In FY2010 it will jump to $307.5 million, a one-year increase of $129.7 million or 72.9%. But…
Since 2004, the City of Chicago has transacted three major long term asset leases worth over $3.5 billion. The Chicago Skyway (2004) – A 99-year lease with Cintra-Macquarie with a transaction value of $1.83 billion. Downtown Parking Garages (2006) – A 99-year lease with Morgan Stanley. This transaction was also with the Chicago Park District. The total value of the transaction is $563…
