News Coverage: Laurence Msall

An independent government watchdog today criticized Gov. Pat Quinn's budget for fiscal year 2011 "because it is unbalanced and does too little to address the state’s fiscal crisis."

"Unfortunately, the Governor’s recommended budget falls short of the goal that must be a top priority for all state leaders: to stabilize the state’s finances,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, in a statement. “Borrowing five to six billion dollars for operating expenses neither balances the budget nor helps ensure next year’s budget crisis will be any better."

Authors of the Civic Fed report, released today, acknowledged Quinn's effort to reduce spending by signing a pension-reform bill earlier this year. Read more...

Nearly $6,000.

That's the burden on every man woman and child in Chicago for the area's unfunded pension liabilities.

The jarring figure comes from a Civic Federation report released today that shows those tax burdens have grown nearly 400 percent in nine years. Read more...

Helped by more than $215 million in federal funds, the Cook County Health and Hospitals System came in more than $42 million under budget in 2009, according to a report presented to the independent health board today.

The windfall brings into question claims that the county’s sales tax hike was necessary to preserve the county’s massive health care system, as County Board President Todd Stroger and others have argued.

While the health system received about $37 million less in patient fees than it anticipated, it took in more than $15 million in Medicaid fees and more than $215 million in federal disproportionate share funds, dispersed to safety net hospitals, such as the county’s. Read more...

In 2008, Oak Forest Hospital’s emergency department saw an average of eight patients a day. Of its 213 beds, only 55 to 60 are in use.

The bed count at Provident Hospital has steadily shrunk to 85, and only 60 are in use.

It’s inefficiencies like these, which can mean high operating costs and hefty budgets, that are key in the debate of whether to close Oak Forest and Provident. Read more...

 

Chicago Transit Authority riders will not face fare increases during 2010 and 2011, according to Gov. Pat Quinn and transit officials who unveiled a new agreement this afternoon.

The agreement, among Illinois state officials, the Regional Transportation Authority, the CTA, Metra and Pace, came after agency leaders wrangled over whether to increase fares in addition to cutting services at the CTA. Read more...