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,…
This editorial acknowledges the 100th anniversary of the Cook County Forest Preserves. It discusses the Forest Preserves’ history and current challenges, including the conflict of interest inherent in the Preserves being overseen by the Cook County Board which has an obligation to promote the County’s economic development. The Civic Federation has been a long-time advocate for a separately-elected, unpaid Forest Preserve Board.
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…
Report applauds level of public input in planning, warns of declining pension health In a report released today, the Civic Federation supports the $187.4 million budget proposed by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. The balanced budget holds the property tax levy relatively flat and minimizes the use of one-time resources. The Federation also commends the District for increasing the level of public input in its planning process. The full 61-page report is available here. “This…
Some recent progress has been made when it comes to reducing the number of local governments in Illinois. The State of Illinois has 6,963 local governments. To provide context to this issue, the table below displays the type and number of local governments in Illinois compared to other select midwestern states. Of the 6,963 local governments in Illinois, county governments make up 102, or 1.5% of the local governments; municipal governments make up 1,298, or 18.6% of the local governments;…
Unincorporated areas lie outside municipal boundaries. The residents and businesses located in these areas are usually provided municipal services such as police protection and building code enforcement by county government or special districts. Because unincorporated areas may be scattered throughout a county’s territory, the provision of these services by counties has been inefficient and costly. Annexation of unincorporated areas to neighboring municipalities is often proposed as a solution…
This article details a decade of leases, deals and debts related to Millennium Park—a park originally envisioned as a $150 million open green space that would be no cost to taxpayers. The Civic Federation said the lack of financial oversight and responsible budgeting during development cost the City of Chicago much more than projected, and likely more than was necessary to build the park.
Cook County is a home rule government with three primary responsibilities: collecting tax and fee revenue, protecting public health through the administration of a public health and hospital system and ensuring public safety and justice through the operation of a jail and court system. The main divisions of the public safety system in Cook County include the Chief Judge, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Public Defender, Sheriff, State’s Attorney, Public Administrator, Department of Facilities…
The consolidation and dissolution of local units of government has been the subject of much discussion recently in Illinois. The purpose of this blog post is to briefly summarize a recent report released by the Illinois Local Government Consolidation Commission and other relevant legislation aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations by streamlining the procedures for annexing, consolidating and dissolving units of local government in Illinois. The Local…
The Civic Federation joined with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on April 23, 2014 to co-host a conference on ways that municipalities in Illinois can avoid or resolve fiscal stress. Experts, practitioners and academics from around the country gathered to discuss Chicago’s fiscal future and how different state intervention and revenue policies around the country have impacted local governments. Attendees to the sold out conference included civic and business leaders and government officials…
