The Civic Federation supports the proposed FY2012 City of Chicago budget of nearly $6.3 billion because it takes effective action to reduce the City’s structural deficit through significant expenditure reductions and targeted revenue increases. The proposed budget greatly reduces the City’s reliance on one-time revenue sources to close the $635.7 million budget gap. It prudently does not contain general tax increases, but rather focuses primarily on reducing the cost of the City’s operations…
Civic Federation Encourages County to Fully Implement Planning Policies (CHICAGO) The Civic Federation supports the proposed $434.7 million DuPage County budget for FY2012 because it cuts spending for the third year in a row while holding the property tax levy flat. Despite reducing expenditures, the County pledges to maintain core services for residents. The proposed budget does many things right, especially the initiatives that allow the county to work within its existing revenues. In…
The Civic Federation supports the DuPage County Proposed FY2012 Financial Plan of $434.7 million. The County is reducing expenditures for the third year in a row while pledging to maintain the existing level of service and keep the property tax levy at the same level as last year. In order to properly plan for the most efficient and effective use of taxpayer resources in this uncertain economic climate, the Civic Federation recommends that DuPage County fully adopt the planning policies…
This article discusses City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plans to overhaul the City’s trash collection system to reduce costs to taxpayers. The Civic Federation says that the City needs to cut costs because it has had a recent history of structural budget deficits and increasing spending, despite revenue declines.
This editorial discusses the proposed conversion of some ward-based services in the City of Chicago to grid-based. It mentions the Civic Federation’s support for such a change, as detailed in the Federation’s “Recommendations for a Financially Sustainable City of Chicago” report.
This article discusses the issues surrounding efforts to reduce public workforces, especially with regard to public safety employees, in order to fill budget gaps. The article cites the Civic Federation’s “Recommendations for a Financially Sustainable City of Chicago” report, which noted that all areas of City spending, including public safety, need to contribute to reducing the City’s budget deficit.
After twice rejecting the plan, a State of Illinois board voted on August 16, 2011 to allow Cook County to close Oak Forest Hospital. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board approved the proposal by a vote of 7 to 1, with one member voting present. It was the first time that the Health Facilities Board had considered the Oak Forest closure since Governor Pat Quinn in June 2011 filled three vacancies on the nine-member board. All of the Governor’s new appointees voted for the…
Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle’s exploration of the possibility of transferring some Cook County Health and Hospital System responsibilities, such as human resources and purchasing, back to Cook County is the focus of this article. The Civic Federation says that it is wary of this option due to a past history of irregularities in the County’s human resources department. The Federation also says that the System should be granted more independence, not less.
In many of its past reports, the Civic Federation has recommended that local governments integrate performance management into their budgeting process and make that information public. In the Cook County Modernization Report released last fall, the Civic Federation recommended that the County make full implementation of performance-based budgeting a priority. The data should be a mix of qualitative and quantitative input, output, efficiency and outcome data. Performance measures should relate…
Two years ago, the Civic Federation profiled efforts by Cook County governments to increase the transparency of their operations by launching Twitter accounts. The “Tweeting Towards Transparency” blog posts (here and here) focused primarily on how Cook County, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and the Cook County Assessor used Twitter, a micro-blogging service that allows for quick and effective dissemination of information, to provide updates of Board votes, new programs and breaking…
