The Civic Federation today releases a report calling for the consolidation of the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, Pace and the Regional Transit Authority into a single regional transit agency. The Federation urges linking transit governance reform with funding.
The new joint report finds the County’s early implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act has been mostly smooth due to advance preparation and prior reforms. Initial data show that since the Act took effect, there has been a decrease in both Cook County Jail’s population and electronic monitoring, and an increase in the use of pretrial supervision.CHICAGO — The Civic Federation and the League of Women Voters of Cook County today released a report analyzing Cook County’s implementation of…
The Civic Federation and the League of Women Voters of Cook County today released a report analyzing Cook County’s implementation of Illinois’ new pretrial law, known informally as the Pretrial Fairness Act, during the first six months since the law took effect on September 18, 2023. The two organizations have observed a mostly smooth implementation so far due to the County having been particularly well-prepared to adopt the new pretrial release process, with many of the law’s required…
As the first state in the country to completely outlaw the use of cash bail, all eyes are on Illinois to see how implementation of the new law is working. Cook County is Illinois’ largest county, and it appears the county was well-prepared to implement the PFA.
A report released by the Cook County Clerk in November 2023 found that revenue from tax increment financing (TIF) districts in Cook County increased for a sixth straight year to a record $1.7 billion, including approximately $1.3 billion from the City of Chicago and $404.3 million from suburban Cook County. The $1.7 billion total accounts for a 7.5% increase from tax year 2021 and represents 9.6% of billed property taxes in the County. Thirteen TIF districts were closed in tax year 2022,…
The Cook County Board of Commissioners approved the final FY2024 Cook County budget on Thursday, Nov. 16 for the fiscal year beginning on December 1. The most significant change from the proposed version of the budget was the addition of a $100 million Disaster Response and Recovery Fund to support Cook County’s response to the migrant crisis and prepare for other emergencies as they arise. Of that amount, $70 million will go to the Cook County Health and Hospitals System to cover the cost of…
CHICAGO – In a report released today, the Civic Federation expressed its support for the proposed Cook County FY2024 budget of $9.1 billion because it continues the Preckwinkle Administration’s good practices of long-term financial planning and prudent financial policy implementation, which have allowed the County to build up healthy general operating reserves and minimize budget deficits projected in future years. The full analysis is available at civicfed.org/CookCountyFY2024.
Click here to read the full report.Click here to read the press release for this analysis. EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe Civic Federation supports the Cook County FY2024 Executive Budget Recommendation…
This blog post blog post examines Cook County’s long-term liabilities. It includes a review of trends in Cook County’s long-term governmental and business-type activities liabilities, debt service trends and a discussion of its tax-supported long-term debt and recent credit rating changes. This analysis was previously presented as part of the Civic Federation’s annual examination of the Cook County proposed budget.
In this blog post, the Civic Federation analyzes indicators of the fiscal health of the Cook County pension fund based on the most recent FY2022 actuarial report as of December 31, 2022. Compared to many other pension funds in Illinois, Cook County’s pension fund is in more sustainable financial shape. This is due in large part to employer contributions made by the County above and beyond the amount required by state statute over the past seven years. The County began making supplemental…
