The 2026 edition of this annual report lists and describes selected consumer taxes within the City of Chicago (Chicago or the ‘City’), effective as of January 1, 2026. Consumer taxes are taxes imposed on the purchase, use, or consumption of goods and services by individuals and businesses. They are generally paid by the end user, either at the point of sale or through charges embedded in the price of a good or service, and include both broad-based sales taxes and targeted excise taxes on…
TIF is a tool used by local governments, like cities, towns, or villages, to boost their economies and pay for redevelopment projects in specific areas. Governments do this by taking property tax revenue above a set starting point and reinvesting it back in the same area. The goal is to encourage development that would not happen without this public funding.
A recent report by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas shows that Cook County property taxes surged 182% in the 30-year period between 1995 and 2024, rising from $6.8 billion to $19.2 billion. This is far greater than the 91% rate of inflation during that period and much higher than the 161% increase in wage growth (161%). The major drivers of this increase are: Increases in school district levies, which hiked property taxes by over 189% in this period.The failure of the state’s property…
Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, is one of the most widely used—and often misunderstood—economic development tools in Illinois. With approximately 1,488 active TIF districts across 511 municipalities in Illinois as of 2025, TIF plays a significant role in shaping local investment, property tax dynamics, and public finance. This primer explains how Tax Increment Financing (TIF) operates in Illinois, including Chicago; assesses its fiscal impacts on taxpayers and overlying taxing bodies; outlines…
Cook County’s enacted budget for FY2026 totals $10.0 billion, half of which pertains to Cook County Health (CCH), which provides mandatory health services to County residents and others, including those who cannot afford care elsewhere. This report provides detail and context on Cook County Health’s fiscal impacts on the County as a whole. With preliminary FY2025 financial results now available, state budget deliberations underway, and continued federal policy shocks, the time is right to…
Cook County started the 2026 fiscal year (FY2026), beginning on December 1, 2025, in a stable financial position due to continued use of prudent budget policies. However, the County enters a period of fiscal uncertainty—it will face serious challenges in the coming year due to cuts in federal funding for social service and health programs, economic uncertainty, and the end of COVID-19 stimulus funding. The County’s strong operating reserves, low bonded debt burden, and improving pension funded…
Full value studies estimate the market value of residential and commercial real estate in a taxing district. They provide a snapshot of the value of a taxing district’s property tax base at a point in time. Examining trends in full value can show how market values have changed over time and whether the assessment burden has shifted across different geographic areas and property classes. The full market value of real estate is an indicator of regional economic health, the size of the property…
A statement from the Civic Federation in response to the second installment of the Cook County property tax bills
Illinois’ Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) was enacted in the 1990s to slow the rate of growth of local property taxes by capping the annual increases in property tax extensions for non-home rule governments, such as school districts and park districts, to the lesser of 5% or the rate of inflation. In reality, property taxes have grown much faster than inflation, and PTELL has not achieved its intended purpose of limiting property tax growth. This joint report from the Civic…
The Local Pension Dashboard is intended for use as a resource and educational tool to increase the accessibility of local pension fund data. The dashboard reports metrics for the ten major local pension funds within the City of Chicago and Cook County, Illinois, with data from 1996 to 2024 (2024 CTA data is not included as that data has not been released as of publication). Using this tool, dashboard users can create custom visualizations and comparisons of up to ten funds.
