Chicago – NRI
Call for disclosure of State budget games associated with troubled Chicago program. Federal, state and local investigators and law enforcement are looking into the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative (NRI). The troubled program, initially funded with $54.5 million in State taxpayer money in late 2010, was created to distribute resources to community organizations in neighborhoods, most of them located within Chicago and adjacent suburbs that were and are threatened by violent crime.

Chicago
City of Chicago deficit will balloon to $1 billion without pension reform.  The Chicago Tribune reported this week that Mayor Rahm Emanuel will not raise sales or property taxes to close a $338.7 million budget deficit for next year. By 2015, the shortfall will balloon to $1 billion without pension reform.

In 2015, Chicago is required by state law to make a $600 million contribution to its police and fire pension funds that currently only have assets to cover just 30.5 and 25 percent of their liabilities. Chicago leaders have suggested that the Illinois General Assembly should relieve Chicago of the pension payment “ramp up” requirement and allow the City to extend payments over a longer period of time.

Chicago’s deficit will rise to $994.7 million in 2015 and $1.15 billion in 2016 without strong pension reforms and possibly new revenues.