Chicago Public Schools

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Civic Federation 2011 Legislative Priorities

The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2011 include public pension reform, requiring state government to develop and implement a capital improvement plan, the dissolving of the Illinois International Port District, creating a…

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Funding Cliffs in Municipal Budgets

The Civic Federation often voices concerns when governments use one-time or nonrecurring revenue sources for ongoing expenses. There are a number of reasons this can be problematic. By definition such revenue sources will not be…

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Future Effects of P.A. 96-0889 on CPS Pension System

On Monday the Civic Federation released its analysis of the Chicago Public Schools FY2011 proposed budget.…

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Chicago Public Schools FY2011 Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the Chicago Public Schools proposed $6.5 billion budget for FY2011, which is a reduction of 5.9% or $402.3 million from the proposed FY2010 budget. The proposed budget offers a short-term solution to the…

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Is TIF the Solution to the Chicago Public Schools’ Budget Crisis?

  On June 15, 2010 the Chicago Board of Education approved measures to cope with the school district’s…

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Civic Federation Position Statement on School Vouchers

Civic Federation Position Statement on School Vouchers June 17, 2010 The Civic Federation supports the use of vouchers to provide students in low-performing public schools with the opportunity to attend private schools. We view charter…

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School Finance Authority: From Creation to Dissolution

The Chicago School Finance Authority (SFA) is scheduled to be officially dissolved on June 1, 2010. The SFA is a separate unit of government created in 1980 by the Illinois General Assembly and charged with “promoting the financial…

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Local Pension Investment Returns—Is the Risk Worth the Reward?

All ten Chicago-area local government pension funds analyzed annually by the Civic Federation had negative investment returns in fiscal year 2008 for a total investment…

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Local Pension Unfunded Liabilities Hit $18.5 Billion

The total unfunded liabilities of the ten major Chicago-area public pension funds reached $18.5 billion in fiscal year 2008. That is an increase…

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How Healthy are Chicago-area Public Pension Funds? A Look at Funded Ratios

As reported in the Civic Federation’s latest report on ten local government pension funds, the most recent audited financial statements of the…