The Civic Federation supports the City Colleges tentative FY2014 budget totaling $657.0 million for continuing the District’s exemplary work to improve its financial and operational health. The FY2014 proposed budget holds the property tax levy flat for the fourth consecutive year and reduces the unrestricted operating portion of the budget, the portion over which the District has the most…
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…
In this blog, the Civic Federation will explore the City Colleges of Chicago’s fund balance levels as reported in its recently released Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012. Fund balance is a term commonly used to describe the net assets of a governmental fund and serves as a measure of financial resources. Last year the Civic Federation blogged…
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…
The Civic Federation announced its support for the City Colleges of Chicago FY2013 tentative budget on July 12, testifying at a public hearing and releasing its analysis of the proposed $659.5 million budget. The budget demonstrates continued fiscal discipline and attention to financial best practices as City Colleges enters the third phase of its multi-year Reinvention effort. The FY2013…
The Civic Federation supports the City Colleges FY2013 budget totaling $659.5 million because it demonstrates continued fiscal discipline and attention to financial best practices. Unrestricted operating funds, the portion of the budget over which the District exercises maximum control, will decrease by 0.8%, or $2.4 million dollars from the previous year. The property tax levy will remain flat…
On December 12, 2011, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the College to Careers initiative for the City Colleges of Chicago. The new initiative addresses the need to fill an estimated approximately 100,000 jobs that are expected to be available in Chicago between now and 2020.[1] College to Careers focuses on two job fields expected to grow significantly in the next ten years: 1) healthcare and 2)…
In 2011 the Civic Federation blog provided weekly context, information and perspective on government budgets and fiscal issues across Illinois. Posts in 2011 focused on FY2012 local government budget analysis and the severe challenges facing local government pension funds, as well as a series of recommendations for improving the fiscal sustainability of the City of Chicago and Cook…
In 2011 the IIFS blog provided weekly context, information and perspective on key fiscal issues in the State of Illinois. Posts in 2011 focused on analysis of FY2012 Illinois budget negotiations, analysis of the ongoing Illinois pension crisis and timely research on other fiscal issues impacting the State of Illinois. The following is a selection of the year’s posts. Analysis of…
