The most basic question about a pension fund is whether its assets are sufficient to cover total liabilities incurred. In this blog post, we examine the aggregate pension liabilities and Other Post Employment Benefit (OPEB) liabilities of ten large local government pension funds in the Chicago area and their collective assets.[1] Liabilities are calculated using actuarial assumptions about the value of all future pension payments for both current and retired employees, as well as any…
The difference between a pension fund’s assets and accrued liabilities is known as the unfunded liability. The unfunded actuarial accrued liability (UAAL) is calculated by subtracting the actuarial value of the assets from the actuarial accrued liability (AAL) of each fund. One of the functions of this indicator is to measure a fund’s ability to bring assets in line with liabilities. Healthy funds are ones that are able to reduce their unfunded liabilities over time while substantial and…
On May 28, 2014, The Civic Federation sent this letter to Representitive Elaine Nekritz and the members of the House Personnel and Pensions Committee in advance of a 4 p.m. hearing on House Bill 1154. The Civic Federation commends Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer and Cook County Chief Financial Officer Ivan Samstein for their work to assemble a comprehensive reform framework to address Cook County and the Forest Preserve District’s pension…
In 2013 President Preckwinkle formed a blue-ribbon commission of local leaders to develop the Next Century Conservation Plan to help provide vision and guidance to the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) for the next 25 years. In January 2014, the commission presented the plan to President Preckwinkle and shortly after it was accepted by the Cook County Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners. The plan develops a series of strategies and action plans to achieve…
As a follow-up to the Capital Planning Overview, this blog post summarizes information contained in the Civic Federation’s FY2014 budget analyses to compare how well the capital improvement plans (CIPs) of six major Chicago area governments conform to best practice guidelines. The governments are the City of Chicago, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Cook County, the Cook County Forest Preserve District, the Chicago Park District and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD).…
The following posts were among the most highly read on the Civic Federation blog in 2013 and represent some of the most closely followed local government issues this year: City Council’s Proposed Independent Budget Office, A Civic Federation Recommendation January 2, 2013 This blog details a proposal introduced in the Chicago City Council on December 12, 2012 to create an Office of Independent Budget Analysis responsible for vetting all financial legislation before the Council. The Civic…
Last week the Civic Federation marked the end of the FY2014 budget season with a blog that summarized the proposed budgets for the eight local governments the Federation monitors. These governments include the City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the City of Chicago, Cook County, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) and the Chicago Park District. This blog…
Last week marked the end of the FY2014 budget season for the eight local governments monitored by the Civic Federation. These governments are the City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the City of Chicago, Cook County, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) and the Chicago Park District. Property Taxes Two of the seven governments that levy property taxes…
This editorial calls for the creation of a Forest Preserve Board separate from the Cook County Board, saying the current governing structure has held the Forest Preserves back in recent decades. The Civic Federation has long called for a separately elected, unpaid Forest Preserve Board that can focus more specifically on Forest Preserve needs.
The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s FY2014 proposed $178.8 million budget that holds the property tax levy flat and maintains substantial reserve funds. However, the Federation warns that these achievements are threatened by the declining health of the District’s pension fund. The District’s reasonable budget plan is only possible because State law requires the District to contribute an inadequate amount to its pensions. The market value funded ratio of…
