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City of Chicago

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Op-ed: Why Chicago needs a budget cop

The following opinion piece by Civic Federation President Laurence Msall was published by Crain's Chicago Business on May 30, 2013. Wrapped around the recent…

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Civic Federation Releases Status of Local Pension Funding FY2011 Report

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…

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Status of Local Pension Funding Fiscal Year 2011

Chicago-area public employee pension funding levels dropped significantly in FY2011, with unfunded liabilities for the ten funds analyzed rising to $32.0 billion from $27.4 billion in FY2010, an increase of 16.7% according to the most…

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Chicago Parking Meter Lease Agreement Pending City Council Approval

On Monday April 29th, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that an agreement had been reached in the disputes between the …

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City's Quarterly Budget Report Shows Increased Revenues, Exhausted Claims and Judgement Budget

On February 20, 2012 Mayor Emanuel released the City of…

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Working Capital in Large Cities

This blog continues the Civic Federation’s examination of indicators that can be used to measure the financial health of local governments. In order to measure financial condition, it is important to…

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Sergeants Reject Contract Proposed by City and Union Leadership

After the City and leadership of the Chicago Police Sergeants’ union agreed to a tentative contract that included pay raises and significant pension reforms, rank-and-file union members rejected…

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Chicagoans' Long-Term Debt and Pension Obligations Per Capita Rose 185% Since 2002

This blog examines some of the long-term obligations of the City of Chicago and its overlapping local governments using a per capita indicator based on bonded debt and unfunded pension liabilities. Rating agencies and other financial…

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Cigarette and Tobacco Tax Changes Affect Chicago Consumers

In the past year, Chicago residents have experienced several increases in the taxes imposed on cigarette and tobacco purchases. The new rates are shown in the following chart and are described in more detail below. (Click to enlarge.)…

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Estimated Effective Property Tax Rates 2001-2010: Selected Municipalities in Northeastern Illinois

This report compares effective property tax rates in selected communities around metropolitan Chicago and finds that effective tax rates in 2010 for residential and commercial properties rose for each of the 32 municipalities studied.…