The Civic Federation and L.E.K. Consulting's review of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid has determined that the operating budget provides adequate protection for taxpayers, but the development of the Olympic Village exposes the City of Chicago to continuing real estate risks that must be managed. Click here to read the full 90-page Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Review.
On Monday, August 17, 2009, Governor Pat Quinn signed an amended version of Senate Bill 189 into law. Senate Bill 189 is now Public Act 096-0542 and will take effect January 1, 2010. The legislation amends various acts concerning governmental transparency including the Illinois Open Meetings Act, Freedom of Information Act, and Attorney General Act. The reforms will make it easier for citizens to obtain public documents from local governments. The following chart compares important…
In this article about a meeting between the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid committee and 1st Ward Alderman Manny Flores and citizens of that ward, Flores references the Civic Federation’s work on an independent report on the financial aspects of the Olympic bid.
This article mentions the Civic Federation’s commitment to analyze the financial aspects of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid through London-based L.E.K Consulting.
On his blog, Greg Hinz writes about the Civic Federation’s hiring of L.E.K. Consulting, a British-based research and consulting firm, to conduct an independent assessment of the 2016 Chicago Olympic bid.
In order to make its capital selection process more transparent in FY2009, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has revised the way in which is selects and prioritizes capital projects. CTA’s revised capital selection process includes an additional layer of accountability with the creation of a new Capital Governance Board consisting of five of the CTA’s executive vice presidents, its budget director, and its director of planning. The Capital Governance Board will review the FY2010-…
The Civic Federation supports the $492.1 million City Colleges of Chicago FY2010 budget because it is a prudent spending plan that both holds the District’s property tax levy flat over the next two years and compensates for uncertainties in State funding by proposing alternative plans to support core academic programs. The Federation is concerned that City Colleges is predicting revenue shortfalls through FY2013 and has not articulated a clear and detailed plan to address the funding…
The Chicago City Council recently passed a resolution requesting that the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid’s finances undergo analysis by the Civic Federation. The resolution is a response to Mayor Daley’s announcement that he would sign an unlimited financial guarantee of the Olympic Games.
The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2009 include public pension reform, the dissolving of the Illinois International Port District, creating a new governing board for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, requiring all counties to hold budget hearings, requiring large counties to produce timely annual audits, enacting tax increment financing reporting reform, requiring school financial management accountability reforms, and authorizing state and local government entities to…
The Civic Federation opposes the Cook County FY2009 proposed budget because it is built on an unstable foundation of $364.0 million in borrowed funds to pay for operating expenses less than a year after the County raised its sales tax by one percentage point. The report makes numerous recommendations for cost reductions, management reforms, and pension reforms.
