Click here to read this issue brief. This annual brief provides a compilation of selected consumer taxes, including rates and descriptions, in place in the City of Chicago as of January 1, 2018. The taxes in this report are grouped under the following categories: sales taxes, tobacco-related taxes, beverage-related taxes, utility-related taxes, accommodations-related taxes, transportation-related taxes and other taxes.
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner presented his annual budget address on February 14, 2018, outlining his budget proposal for the State fiscal year 2019. The 2019 fiscal year begins on July 1, 2018 and ends June 30, 2019. The Civic Federation will release a full analysis of the Governor’s proposal in the coming months. This blog will focus on two key elements of the Governor’s budget proposal that will most significantly impact local governments and the State’s higher education institutions.…
2018 Civic Federation Legislative Priorities The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2018 include public employee pension reforms, consolidation of local government units in Illinois, enacting policies to rationalize the property tax system, creation of a Local Government Protection Authority, requiring the State of Illinois to build a rainy day fund, development and implementation of a capital improvement plan, among others. …
Click here to read the full report. The Civic Federation supports the proposed FY2018 City of Chicago budget of $8.6 billion because it continues to work toward stabilizing the City’s finances, puts its four pension funds on a path toward solvency and works to incorporate short-term capital expenses into the operating budget rather than funding them through borrowing. The budget also proposes reforms and efficiencies aimed at improving city operations and reducing growing expenditures…
After several iterations and much disagreement, the State of Illinois now has a new statewide school funding formula. The Illinois General Assembly approved the new formula as Senate Bill 1947, House Floor Amendment 5 on August 29, with the Illinois House passing the bill Monday, August 28 and the Senate concurring the next day. The Governor signed the bill into law as Public Act 100-0465 on August 31, 2017. This historic new funding formula will help alleviate the ailing finances of the…
August 1, 2017 UPDATE: The City of Chicago released its Annual Financial Analysis for 2017 on July 31, 2017. The online content included with the report includes two years of projections of the City’s actuarially calculated contributions under the new funding schedule for the Municipal and Laborers’ Funds after the end of the five-year ramp. Note that the years in the chart are levy years and refer to contributions that will actually be made in the following fiscal year. Original post…
On July 1, 2017, both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly voted to override the Governor’s veto of House Bill 1811, which included a measure authorizing the City of Chicago to increase its emergency communications surcharge to $5.00 per month for phone service contracts. The current surcharge is $3.90 per month per phone service contract. If the City Council approves the emergency communications surcharge increase, Mayor Rahm Emanuel reportedly would use the revenue to fund improvements…
Links to each presentation can be found within the forum's agenda below: --- 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. — Registration and Continental Breakfast Badge Pickup and Security Inspection in the Lobby 8:00 a.m. — Welcome Kent Swanson, Civic Federation Chairman, Executive Vice President, Riverside Investment and Development 8:05 a.m. — Balance Sheet Measures of Fiscal Capacity William Testa, Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Realty-…
While Illinois lawmakers remain gridlocked over a State budget plan, another area shows promise of compromise in Springfield: government consolidation. With over 6,900 local government units, Illinois has more units of government than any other state. The multiplicity of local units of government, many of which are funded predominantly by property taxes, is often cited as a reason for high property tax rates in Illinois. The issue of government consolidation receives bipartisan support by…
On Friday March 24, 2017 Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed Senate Bill 2437, legislation that was intended to increase city funding to help prevent the City of Chicago’s Municipal and Laborers’ pension funds from going insolvent within the next decade. The legislation had passed with large bipartisan majorities in the Illinois House and Senate. This was the City’s second attempt to improve the funding status of its Municipal and Laborers’ Pension Funds. The Illinois Supreme Court struck…
