On this segment of the City Room news program, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall says the next Cook County Board President should roll back the Cook County sales tax increase of 2008, a recommendation found in the Federation’s Cook County Modernization Report.
This segment of the “Chicago Tonight” news program features a roundtable discussion with the three candidates for Cook County Board President. The candidates discuss recommendations made by the Civic Federation’s Cook County Modernization Report.
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 Civic Federation supports the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) proposed FY2011 budget of $1.3 billion but has significant concerns for the agency in the longer term. The budget is a 5.2% or $66.7 million increase from the adopted FY2010 budget of $1.2 billion. The proposed FY2011 budget maintains the current level of transit service for the Chicagoland area. However, it is precariously balanced on $83.0 million in anticipated payments from the State which have not yet…
Group Retains Concerns about Use of Capital Funds to Balance Budget The Civic Federation announced today that it supports the FY2011 Chicago Transit Authority proposed budget of $1.3 billion because it implements efficiencies and cost-cutting measures while maintaining current service levels. However, the Federation retains significant concerns about the System’s future fiscal stability. The full budget analysis is available on the Civic Federation website at www.civicfed.org. The CTA proposes…
Civic Federation Supports FY2011 Budget, Urges More Complete Planning Process Citing DuPage County’s plan to cut expenditures by 3.0% while pledging to maintain core services, the Civic Federation announced today that it supports the $459.4 million proposed FY2011 budget. However, the Federation warned that the County will need to improve its financial planning process to prepare for an uncertain future. Like many governments, DuPage County predicts continued declines in its economically…
The Civic Federation supports the DuPage County FY2011 proposed operating budget of $459.4 million. The County is reducing operating expenditures for the second year in a row while pledging to maintain the existing level of service and keep the property tax levy at roughly the same level as last year. Going forward the County needs to plan for a continued decline in economically sensitive revenues and projected increases in personnel expenses. In order to properly plan for the uncertain…
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…
A recent poll of Illinois voters might help explain why elected officials have been reluctant to make difficult decisions to solve the State of Illinois’ fiscal crisis. The poll, by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, asked registered voters to choose among three different proposals for closing the State’s roughly $13 billion deficit in FY2011. More than half of the respondents—57.0%—said the State takes in plenty of money and can fix the problem…
This article is about how some Chicago-area public transit agencies increased wages ahead of the economic recession, despite warnings that revenues would decline. The Civic Federation says such pay increases are unreasonable, given that there was adequate information available about the impending economic troubles.
