Today the Civic Federation released its analysis of Cook County’s FY2011 Executive Budget Recommendation. The Federation supports Cook County’s $3.0 billion proposed budget plan as it reflects a significant effort by the new County administration to usher in an era of significant reform of governmental operations. The Federation commends Board President Preckwinkle and her team for their commitment to adopt a plan to fully roll back the sales tax increase by 2013 as part of the FY2011 budget…
The Civic Federation supports Cook County’s $3.0 billion FY2011 Executive Budget Recommendation as it reflects a significant effort to reduce expenditures. The new County administration also appears to be on a path toward significant reform of governmental operations, as recommended by the Civic Federation in the Cook County Modernization report, which can be read here. The Civic Federation believes that the County still faces significant challenges. Although the recommended budget includes…
This report analyzes basic financial data on ten major local government employee pension funds in Cook County. It is intended to provide lawmakers, pension trustees, pension fund members and taxpayers with the information they need to make informed decisions regarding public employee retirement benefits. The report reviews fiscal year 2009 actuarial valuation reports and financial statements of the retirement plans for the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools, Cook…
The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2011 include public pension reform, requiring state government to develop and implement a capital improvement plan, the dissolving of the Illinois International Port District, creating a new governing board for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, reinstating means-tested transit discounts for seniors, requiring large counties to hold budget hearings and produce timely annual audits, enacting tax increment financing reporting reform,…
On Monday the Civic Federation released the Cook County Modernization Report, which provided leaders of Cook County with ideas for improving and reshaping county government. Cook County government provides three major public services: a comprehensive public health system; a judicial system including law enforcement and the State’s Attorney’s Office; and tax administration and official records including birth, death, and marriage. The County’s ability to continue to provide these services in the…
The purpose of the Cook County Modernization Report is to provide leaders of the County with ideas for reshaping and refining County government that will improve service delivery to residents while reducing wasteful spending and decreasing reliance on taxpayer funds. The Modernization Project provides a roadmap for creating a government that is more efficient, less costly and more accountable. The report contains actionable recommendations that can be implemented in the first 100 days after the…
With an estimated 5,287,037 residents, Cook County is the most populous county in the State of Illinois and the second most populous county in the United States, coming only after Los Angeles County in California.[1] The County is 946 square miles in size – of that only 15% is unincorporated by the City of Chicago or other municipalities. The role of Cook County government is to provide healthcare, court, and public safety services, as well as administer vital records and assess and collect…
100-Day Accountability Report This 100-Day Accountability Report gives a progress update on recommendations to reform Cook County that the Civic Federation made in its Cook County Modernization Report. The 100-Day Report provides an overview of key events in the transition to the new administration of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, summarizes key findings from the Modernization Report, provides an update on the County’s budget since publication of the original report and…
The Cook County Transparency Initiative provides citizens of the County access to transition reports, commissioner reports and research about attempts to reform Cook County. Its purpose is to improve the public's access to informationabout County programs. This webpage also includes links to Civic Federation research about the County and its associated bodies of government such as the Cook County Health and Hospitals System and Forest Preserve District of Cook County. This resource collects in…
On July 14, 2010, Cook County Commissioners approved by a vote of 9 to 3 a strategic plan to reorient the County’s health system more toward outpatient care and away from inpatient hospital services. The five-year plan calls for closing the emergency room and inpatient facilities at Oak Forest Hospital. At Provident Hospital, the emergency room would remain open, but most inpatient beds would be eliminated. Savings from these steps would be used to expand outpatient services across the County’s…
