District continues dramatic improvement of its financial practices, planning In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation supports the City Colleges of Chicago’s proposed FY2015 budget of $723.5 million which reflects the District’s continued commitment to sound financial practices and prudent planning. The full 47-page report is available here. “We have seen a dramatic improvement in…
This article covers Chicago Public Schools’ July 2 budget announcement, which includes a plan to count 30 days of FY2016 revenue toward the FY2015 budget to help fill a projected FY2015 deficit nearing $1 billion. The Civic Federation said this one-time revenue adjustment will do nothing to improve the District’s long-term finances, but also recognized that the District’s options are limited…
This article discusses the budget plan announced by Chicago Public Schools July 2 that includes extending the period in which the District will collect property tax revenue by an additional 30 days to August. The Civic Federation said it is a risky one-time fix that relies on Cook County issuing property tax bills on-time, and does nothing to help the District face next year’s projected $1…
On June 26, 2014, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle issued a preliminary budget forecast for fiscal year 2015, which begins on December 1, 2014. The report also provides estimated year-end results for FY2014. A public hearing on the preliminary FY2015 budget will be held on July 16, 2014. Board President Preckwinkle plans to present her final budget proposal for FY2015 in…
Despite criticizing the General Assembly for not passing an adequate budget for the new fiscal year, Governor Pat Quinn signed the legislature's appropriations bills into law on June 30, 2014, the last day before the start of FY2015. The Governor vetoed $250 million from the capital budget, but the change will not affect the State’s operating expenditures. As discussed here, the FY2015 General…
Under Illinois law, the State is required to share a certain portion of state income tax receipts with municipal and county governments in Illinois through the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). The state revenue shared with local governments is a legislatively required transfer from the General Fund to the Local Government Distributive Fund. The Illinois Comptroller then…
The City of Chicago currently has the lowest rated credit of any major city in the country according to Moody’s Investors Service. At Baa1, the long-term bond rating is still several levels above falling out of investment grade, but the City is at risk of having to pay large liabilities if it is downgraded again. According to an investigative report published by the Chicago Sun-Times, many…
This article discusses interest rate swaps made by Chicago that require the City to maintain a credit rating of at least Baa1, or financial institutions can terminate deals and demand payment. Chicago’s credit rating sits at Baa1 after a series of downgrades in the past year. The Civic Federation said the swaps were entered into at a time when it seemed unlikely the City’s credit rating could…
In this clip Civic Federation President Laurence Msall discusses the FY2015 Budget passed by Illinois legislators May 30. The budget does not provide funding for a full fiscal year, and relies on borrowing and shifting revenue from FY2014 to cover operations expenses. The State’s backlog of unpaid bills, which has dropped to $5.4 billion from $8.8 billion in FY2012, is expected to increase under…
Although Governor Pat Quinn originally proposed a capital budget for FY2015 with no new debt-funded projects, the General Assembly approved an additional measure that added $1.1 billion in new road projects that will be funded through the sale of long-term capital bonds. As previously discussed here, the Governor’s recommended FY2015 capital budget included $19.5 billion in total spending, of…
