Click here to read the full report. The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s proposed FY2018 budget of $198.2 million because it employs reasonable fiscal practices and focuses on the use of innovative measures such as cell tower placements and sponsorships to generate much-needed revenue and stabilize the Forest Preserves' financial position. As detailed in the report, the District's FY2018 budget includes reasonable fee increases necessary for the…
Click here to read the full report. The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s proposed FY2017 budget of $192.4 million because it includes measures to reduce costs and generate additional revenue in order to offset rising personnel costs and a reduction in the Personal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT). The District’s FY2017 budget proposes management efficiencies and evidence-based fee changes for the use of Forest Preserve amenities to balance out increased…
In April 2016, the Illinois Department of Revenue announced that it discovered a misallocation totaling an estimated $168 million in extra Personal Property Replacement Taxes (PPRT) distributed to 6,527 local government taxing entities throughout Illinois. This misallocation equals 6% of the total $2.8 billion PPRT payments made to local governments in tax years 2014 and 2015. Each local government that received wrongful PPRT funding will need to refund the State beginning in 2017. Overview of…
FY2016 Budget Season Summary December 3, 2015 marked the end of the budget season for the eight local governments monitored by the Civic Federation. These governments include: the City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, City of Chicago, Cook County, Chicago Transit Authority, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and Chicago Park District. Four of the seven governments that levy property taxes held their levies relatively…
The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s proposed $190.3 million budget. The proposed plan is reasonable and balanced, does not use fund balance reserves for operations and holds the property tax levy relatively flat at a time when many other local governments have sought large revenue increases. However, the District’s underfunded pensions remain a concern and the pension fund will soon require an infusion of revenue, even if the proposed reform package…
The Civic Federation’s previous blog examined the long-term debt of eight major local governments in northeastern Illinois. This blog explores the unfunded pension liabilities of ten pension funds sponsored by local governments in the Chicago area using a per capita indicator based on unfunded pension liabilities. Between FY2004 and FY2013, pension obligations per capita for Chicagoans’ increased by 199.4%, rising from $4,305 to $12,889. For Chicago residents, the pension obligations per capita…
The Civic Federation regularly analyzes and comments on the budgets and audited financial statements of eight major local governments in northeastern Illinois: 1. City of Chicago; 2. Chicago Public Schools (CPS); 3. Cook County; 4. Chicago Transit Authority (CTA); 5. Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC); 6. City Colleges of Chicago; 7. Chicago Park District; and 8. Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD). As part of these analyses, we examine trends in these governments’…
The following posts were among the most highly read on the Civic Federation blog in 2014 and represent some of the most closely followed local government issues this year: Illinois General Assembly Passes Pension Reforms for Chicago April 16, 2014 This blog discussed Senate Bill 1922, which was approved by the Illinois House and Senate on April 8, 2014. The bill contained benefit reforms and funding increases intended to stabilize the financial condition of the City of Chicago’s Municipal and…
The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s FY2015 proposed $187.4 million budget for holding the property tax levy relatively flat and minimizing the use of one-time resources. This balanced budget is very reasonable in the near-term, especially when paired with the extra information provided by the master plans recently adopted by the District. The Civic Federation commends the Forest Preserve District’s increased dedication to public involvement in its…
Chicago-area public employee pension funding levels continued to decline in FY2012, with total unfunded liabilities for the ten funds analyzed rising to $37.2 billion from $32.0 billion in FY2011. On average, the ten funds analyzed had an actuarial funding level of 45.5% in FY2012, down from 74.5% in FY2003. For all pension funds supported by the taxes of Chicago residents, including statewide finds, the total unfunded liabilities reached $19,579 per Chicago resident in FY2012. The…
