In return for watching over District land and serving as a deterrent to crime or misuse, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County rents housing on its property to employees at drastically discounted rates through its Resident Watchmen Program. On October 28, 2011, the District announced plans to strengthen the program by implementing basic requirements for renters and increasing the fee structure of rental properties. The new fee structure makes rental properties available between 40% and 60…
Evanston voters overwhelmingly approved a non-binding advisory referendum to dissolve Evanston Township in the March 20, 2012 election. Election results show that 66.9% of voters supported the measure while 33.0% opposed it. Legally dissolving the township will require action by the General Assembly. In October 2011, the Evanston City Council voted 5-4 to submit the question of abolition to a vote and to lobby the General Assembly for legislation that would eliminate the township and transfer…
At its next meeting, the Committee on Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations of the Cook County Board of Commissioners will consider a resolution requiring the County Assessor, Clerk, Recorder of Deeds, Treasurer and President of the Board of Commissioners to draft an interoffice agreement establishing an Office of Tax Administration. The Civic Federation has historically supported modernizing the County’s outmoded, inefficient governmental structure. In its 2010 Cook County Modernization…
The Civic Federation supports the Chicago Park District FY2012 Budget of $407.5 million because it holds the property tax levy flat for the seventh year in a row and emphasizes cost containment and revenue diversification. The Federation supports the District’s development of a fund balance policy and its efforts to eliminate the structural deficit through a multi-year plan. While we support the budget, the Civic Federation has concerns about the declining health of the District’s pension fund…
(CHICAGO) The Civic Federation announced today that it offers conditional support for the proposed tentative FY2012 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) budget of $1.0 billion. The full 41-page analysis is available at civicfed.org. “While the Federation supports many aspects of the budget, including reductions in operational and personnel expenditures and proposed pension reforms, the District plans to increase its property tax levy to the maximum for the second…
The Civic Federation offers conditional support for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s (MWRD) FY2012 Tentative Budget of $1.0 billion. The Federation is concerned that the budget proposes the maximum increase to the property tax levy and does not comply with the District’s own fund balance policy. The proposed reforms to pension funding that have the support of the Retirement Fund Board and the Board of Commissioners are a strong step toward improving the financial health of the…
(CHICAGO) The Civic Federation supports the $195.0 million proposed FY2012 Forest Preserve District of Cook County budget because it holds the property tax levy flat during a period of ongoing financial hardship for Cook County residents and takes steps toward more effective personnel management. The full 51-page analysis is available at civicfed.org. In the analysis, the Civic Federation commends Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Forest Preserve District General Superintendent…
The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County FY2012 Executive Budget Recommendation totaling $195.0 million, which includes both operating and capital expenditures. We commend the District for holding its property tax levy flat during a period of continued financial hardship for many Cook County residents and for taking steps toward more effective personnel management starting with a comprehensive desk audit. The District has also shown prudence by maintaining…
In its Recommendations for a Financially Sustainable City of Chicago, the Civic Federation recommended that the City’s election function be transferred to Cook County. Consolidated election administration is the norm in Illinois. The Federation identified two primary benefits of such a merger: it would be more user-friendly and reduce voter confusion about which lines to stand in for early voting, which machines to use and where to find complete election results for county-wide elections; and…
This editorial segment discusses cuts that could be made to the City of Chicago budget to fill a $635 million deficit. It mentions the Civic Federation’s support of the City’s FY2012 budget proposal because the proposal made significant cuts to address the deficit.
