This report identifies the most significant financial challenges facing the City of Chicago and provides recommendations to the new Mayor of Chicago for ways to improve and stabilize the City’s finances in the short- and long-term. Those challenges include addressing the City’s significant budget deficit expected to be at least $500 million for FY2012, a growing bonded debt load, and crisis-ridden employee pensions. Click here to read the press release for this report. For more information…
In 2010 the Civic Federation blog provided comprehensive information about government and fiscal issues across Illinois for the public, government officials and media. In a range of posts on topics from the effect Public Act 96-0889 would have on local government pension systems to explaining nuances of the Cook County property tax system, the Federation blog offered rapid-response commentary on current events and original research that accompanied the Federation’s publications. Issues…
This article discusses River Forest’s plan to prevent the diversion of soon-expiring TIF funds by using them to fund a last-minute development. The Civic Federation says this plan breaches the public trust and may not withstand legal examination.
A new report on Cook County Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts was released today by Cook County Clerk David Orr. For tax year 2009 (taxes paid in 2010), revenue for Chicago TIFs totals $519.7 million. Is that $519.7 million paid by people who own property in TIF districs? Technically yes, because if those taxpayers are late or delinquent in their payments, the TIF districts do not receive their revenues on time. But, in a very real sense, all Chicago property taxpayers and even owners of…
The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2011 include public pension reform, requiring state government to develop and implement a capital improvement plan, the dissolving of the Illinois International Port District, creating a new governing board for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, reinstating means-tested transit discounts for seniors, requiring large counties to hold budget hearings and produce timely annual audits, enacting tax increment financing reporting reform,…
The Civic Federation opposes the proposed FY2011 City of Chicago budget of nearly $6.2 billion because it does not effectively address the structural deficit and relies too heavily on asset lease reserve funds and debt restructuring to close the $654.8 million budget deficit. The proposed budget would defer costs and postpone changes needed to align current year expenditures with recurring revenues. Click here to read the press release for this analysis.
The Civic Federation announced today that it opposes the $6.2 billion FY2011 City of Chicago budget because it does not do enough to address the City’s structural deficit. Instead it relies upon long-term asset lease funds and other non-recurring revenues to close a $654.8 million shortfall. The Federation urges the City Council to reduce spending to avoid further deterioration of the City’s financial condition. The full 80-plus page analysis of the budget is available at www.civicfed.org. The…
Civic Federation Supports FY2011 Budget, Urges More Complete Planning Process Citing DuPage County’s plan to cut expenditures by 3.0% while pledging to maintain core services, the Civic Federation announced today that it supports the $459.4 million proposed FY2011 budget. However, the Federation warned that the County will need to improve its financial planning process to prepare for an uncertain future. Like many governments, DuPage County predicts continued declines in its economically…
The Civic Federation supports the DuPage County FY2011 proposed operating budget of $459.4 million. The County is reducing operating expenditures for the second year in a row while pledging to maintain the existing level of service and keep the property tax levy at roughly the same level as last year. Going forward the County needs to plan for a continued decline in economically sensitive revenues and projected increases in personnel expenses. In order to properly plan for the uncertain…
Tax increment financing (TIF) districts do not freeze property tax revenue available to other taxing districts in Cook County; the principal effect of TIF is to raise tax rates higher than they otherwise would have been.[1] Any additional effects of TIF districts depend on whether or not the redevelopment would have occurred even if the TIFs had not been created. Opponents of TIF often claim that TIF diverts millions of dollars from Cook County school districts and other taxing districts.…
