The Civic Federation joined with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on April 4, 2013 to co-host a conference on economic development strategies during difficult fiscal times. Experts and practitioners from California, Michigan and the Chicago area led discussions of the opportunities and challenges states and local governments face in making decisions on how best to grow their economies while…
Faced with rising pension costs and modest revenue growth, Governor Pat Quinn has recommended a reduction in State of Illinois funding for local governments and statewide public transportation. In his FY2014 budget, the Governor proposed capping those distributions at FY2012 levels. Savings to the State are estimated at $143 million, according to State bond documents. The savings estimate is…
On February 20, 2012 Mayor Emanuel released the City of Chicago’s first quarterly budget report in order “to ensure more transparency and honesty in the City’s budgeting process.” The reports track the City’s revenues and expenditures as they align with the budget. They also include updates on major initiatives implemented through the budget process. Recently the City released the budget report…
The State of Illinois has asked the federal government to extend Cook County’s Medicaid expansion plan to ensure that recipients remain covered after the end of 2013. In a letter on March 21, 2013, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) told federal authorities that it still expects the State to pass legislation allowing Illinois to expand its entire Medicaid program…
This article reports on Vendor Assistance Program LLC, a Chicago startup aiming to profit by advancing money to vendors that are owed payments from the State of Illinois. The Civic Federation’s FY2014 State Budget Roadmap is cited, which estimates Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills could reach $22 billion in five years if the State continues on its current path of fiscal mismanagement.
Governor Pat Quinn has proposed eliminating several corporate tax incentives to help pay down the State’s backlog of unpaid bills that is expected to total $7.5 billion at the end of the current fiscal year. The Governor’s proposal would eliminate three rules that allow corporations to reduce tax liabilities and would increase State corporate income tax revenues by an estimated $445 million…
On March 6, 2013, Governor Pat Quinn issued his recommended budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2013. However, the first major obstacle to the Governor’s proposed FY2014 budget emerged a day earlier, when the Illinois House approved a revenue projection that was significantly below the Governor’s revenue number. The Governor’s budget recommendation is based on projected FY2014…
This editorial discusses Illinois’ financial crisis in the context of the income tax increase enacted in 2011 and scheduled to partially rollback on January 1, 2015. It cites the Civic Federation’s State of Illinois FY2014 Budget Roadmap, which projects Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills to reach $22 billion by FY2018 unless action is taken to curb rising pension costs.
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…
This article covers the Civic Federation’s FY2014 State of Illinois Roadmap, which projects that Illinois’ pension costs would consume nearly one-third of State-generated revenue in FY2018 without pension reform. The report also projects the State’s backlog of unpaid bills could reach $22 billion in FY2018.
