The June 2011 edition of Government Finance Review features “The Chicago Experience: a P3 Checklist,” co-authored by Civic Federation President Laurence Msall and…
After two consecutive years of losses, the State of Illinois is reporting moderate growth in sales tax revenue for FY2011, which ended on June 30, 2011. Not only did sales tax revenue collected by the State grow but it also beat the…
In the Civic Federation’s “Recommendations for a Financially Sustainable City of Chicago” report issued last week, the Federation discussed the importance of a government…
The purpose of this report is to provide the City of Chicago’s Mayor and City Council with detailed recommendations on ways to address the City’s serious financial challenges and create a government that is more efficient, less costly and…
The purpose of this report is to provide the City of Chicago’s Mayor and City Council with detailed recommendations on ways to address the City’s serious financial challenges.…
Alternative service delivery refers to any process that shifts some or all of the functions, risks or responsibilities for delivering a service from the primary government to the private sector or another public entity. When the function…
A critical fiscal process for state and local governments is the planning and funding of capital projects. The literature on best practices for capital budgeting is not as robust as for operating budgets and there is significant variety in…
As explained previously in this blog a key indicator the Civic Federation uses to assess the financial health of local governments is the level of unreserved…
Among the many challenges facing City of Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel when he takes office May 16 is the precarious state of the City’s finances. The City has a large and increasing direct debt load that could be a major indicator of…
Mayor-Elect Rahm Emanuel and the newly elected Chicago City Council face a host of major financial challenges. One of the…
