Illinois General Assembly Passes Pension Reform for the Chicago Park District
UPDATE: On January 7, 2014, Governor Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 1523 into law. The provisions of Public Act 98-0622 will go into effect starting January 1,…
UPDATE: On January 7, 2014, Governor Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 1523 into law. The provisions of Public Act 98-0622 will go into effect starting January 1,…
The Civic Federation supports the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) proposed FY2014 operating budget of nearly $1.4 billion. After two years of difficult but necessary steps to stabilize its operations, the CTA has produced a balanced…
On October 25, 2013, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the CTA’s bond rating to A1 from Aa3 and lowered its…
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…
As part of its ongoing analysis of State and local government budgets, the Civic Federation also reviews proposed capital budgets along with any planning documents provided in support of infrastructure investments. Although many…
Four large local government pension funds in the Chicago area reduced their expected investment rates of return for fiscal year 2012. While intended to make the funds’ actuarial assumptions more realistic, these decisions will also have…
Over the next few weeks, many Chicago-area local governments will be releasing their proposed budgets for fiscal year 2014. In preparation for the upcoming budget releases, this blog will recap the Civic Federation’s significant…
Since July 2013 each of the six local governments monitored by the Civic Federation with General Obligation bond debt has experienced downgrades to their bond ratings. These governments are the City of Chicago, Cook County, the…
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…
This week the Civic Federation released its annual Status of Local Pension Funding report. The purpose of this report is to compile and analyze basic…