Last week Cook County Clerk David Orr announced upcoming changes to property tax bills that will allow residential and business taxpayers with properties located inside tax increment financing (TIF) districts to see how much of their payments are going to TIF funds. For the first time, Cook County second installment property tax bills mailed this summer will show the tax amount and percentage of the total tax bill used for TIF. Previously, tax bills identified properties within a TIF and then…
The Civic Federation supports the $425.6 million Chicago Park District budget for continuing the District’s multi-year effort to reduce its structural deficit. The proposal includes a broad-based property tax increase after eight years of relatively flat levies for the District. It also leaves the District well-positioned to implement the comprehensive pension reforms passed by the Illinois General Assembly in November 2013 that are now awaiting the Governor’s review. The District's pension…
Pension Contribution Increase in FY2015 Threatens to Derail Fiscal Progress In a report released today, the Civic Federation announced its support for the City of Chicago’s proposed $7.0 billion budget as a reasonable short-term plan that continues to reduce the City’s structural deficit. However, Chicago’s fiscal and economic stability continue to be jeopardized by the failure to fix the City’s broken pension system. The full 111-page analysis is available at www.civicfed.org. “This budget…
The Civic Federation supports the City of Chicago’s proposed $7.0 billion budget as a reasonable short-term plan that closes approximately two-thirds of a $338.7 million budget gap with structural changes that will continue to reduce the City’s ongoing deficit. To help balance the FY2014 budget, the City proposed an increase in the City’s cigarette tax rate, a reduction in the partial exemption from the amusement tax for cable companies and targeted rate increases for fines and permits.…
As noted in last week’s blog post, two City of Chicago tax increment financing (TIF) districts will be extended for another 12 years if Governor Quinn signs Senate Bill 20, a large economic development bill, into law. The two TIF districts, the Michigan/Cermak TIF and the Midwest TIF, are located on the near south side and west side of Chicago. This blog will focus on the two districts. For more on how TIF districts are extended, read last week’s blog. Of the two districts, only one was set to…
In the latest session of the General Assembly, the Illinois legislature approved extensions of two Chicago-area tax increment financing (TIF) districts. This blog explains what happens when TIF districts are set to expire and what local governments gain and lose from expirations and extensions. Next week, the Civic Federation blog will explore the specifics of the approved legislation. TIF Districts Tax increment financing (TIF) is a financial mechanism that is widely used by municipalities…
On June 30, 2011 the Civic Federation released Recommendations for a Financially Sustainable City of Chicago. The report offered a comprehensive set of forty recommendations to improve the City’s long-term fiscal condition. The reforms could be implemented over the next few fiscal years and covered a wide array of functions from pensions to public safety. Next month the City will release its proposed FY2013 budget. Despite cost saving initiatives implemented by the City over the past year, the…
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…
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…
The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2012 include public pension reform, requiring the State of Illinois to develop and implement a capital improvement plan, dissolving the Illinois International Port District, creating a new governing board for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, requiring all counties to hold budget hearings and large counties to produce timely annual audits, enacting tax increment financing reporting reform, requiring school financial management…
