The Civic Federation’s recent report profiling unincorporated areas in six townships within Cook County examines issues related to annexing unincorporated areas. Based on interviews conducted with various stakeholders involved in a decision to incorporate a previously unincorporated area in Cook County, the Federation was able to start to identify some of the problems that must be considered if incorporation is pursued as well as benefits that might accrue to residents and businesses in…
To view a mobile friendly version of this report, click here. This report examines selected areas within Cook County that have never been incorporated by a municipality. Approximately 2.4%, or 126,114, of Cook County’s 5.2 million residents live in unincorporated areas of the County and therefore do not pay taxes to a municipality. This requires County government to provide municipal services, including law enforcement, building and zoning, and liquor control, to small pockets of residents…
To view a mobile friendly version of this page, click here. As part of our full report on unincorporated Cook County, the Civic Federation compiled profiles of the unincorporated areas in the six townships that contain a majority of the total unincorporated Cook County population: Bremen, Lemont, Leyden, Maine, Northfield and Orland. Understanding more about the unique characteristics of these areas will help County and municipal officials, as well as unincorporated…
Below is a list of terms commonly used in the Civic Federation's Unincorporated Cook County report. Annexation Is the extension of municipal boundaries into adjacent unincorporated areas and the corresponding expansion of city services to those newly incorporated areas. In Illinois, municipal governments have the authority to determine and expand their boundaries, subject to the provisions of the Illinois Municipal Code (See 65 ILCS 5/ Illinois Municipal Code). Equalized Assessed Value Or EAV,…
Local governments across the country are searching for ways to more humanely and cost-effectively treat individuals with mental illnesses who come into contact with the criminal justice system. According to a report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics from 2006 (the most recent year for which these data are available), over half of all incarcerated individuals in federal, state and local jails and prisons suffer from a mental health problem. In addition, according to the National Association…
The Civic Federation supports Cook County’s proposed FY2015 operating budget of $3.7 billion for holding the property tax levy relatively flat and not including any new fines or fees. Instead, a $168.9 million shortfall is closed through a combination of revenue increases, expenditure reductions and management efficiencies. Under the leadership of President Preckwinkle and her team, Cook County is continuing to become a more accountable and efficient steward of public resources. Despite…
Since the release of our 2012 Effective Tax Rates report on September 29th the Civic Federation has fielded many inquiries about how to calculate the rates for municipalities outside the study. In response, this blog will go through the steps to calculate an effective tax rate for tax year 2012 (taxes payable in 2013) and provide links taxpayers can follow to gather the data they need to estimate effective rates in their own communities. An effective tax rate estimates what percent, on average…
Chicago-area public employee pension funding levels continued to decline in FY2012, with total unfunded liabilities for the ten funds analyzed rising to $37.2 billion from $32.0 billion in FY2011. On average, the ten funds analyzed had an actuarial funding level of 45.5% in FY2012, down from 74.5% in FY2003. For all pension funds supported by the taxes of Chicago residents, including statewide finds, the total unfunded liabilities reached $19,579 per Chicago resident in FY2012. The…
The declining health of public employee pension funds throughout the State of Illinois is primarily due to two causes: inadequate employer contributions over a sustained period and recent investment losses. This blog will discuss the role of investment rate of return in public employee pension funding and provide an update on the investment returns of Chicago-area pension funds in FY2012, the most recent year for which data are available. A pension fund invests the contributions of employers…
This annual report compares effective property tax rates in the six-county region of northeastern Illinois between 2003 and 2012. Effective tax rates for nearly all selected communities rose between 2011 and 2012, the most recent year for which data are available. Among the 12 selected Cook County communities, the Civic Federation found Harvey had the highest effective tax rate for residential properties at 8.87% in tax year 2012, while Chicago had the lowest residential rate at 1.84%.…
