This report compares effective property tax rates in selected communities around metropolitan Chicago. The Civic Federation found mixed results across the region for effective tax rates in 2011 with rises in tax rates for all of the collar county municipalities studied over 2010 while in Cook County some communities saw decreases in residential effective tax rates. Commercial effective tax rates in each of the 12 Cook County communities studied declined by between 11.4% and 27.1%. Additionally…
The Civic Federation supports the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s tentative budget of $1.2 billion for its responsible pension practices and transparent long-term planning. The District is prudently basing its pension contribution this year on the actuarial needs of the fund, rather than blindly following statutory requirements. The District’s responsible pension fund stewardship is guided by its continued reliance on publicly-available long-term financial plans. The District also…
In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation supports the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s (MWRD) FY2014 Tentative Budget of $1.2 billion for its responsible pension practices and transparent long-term planning. The full 50-page report is available at www.civicfed.org. “The District is prudently basing its pension contribution this year on the actuarial needs of the fund, rather than blindly following statutory requirements,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic…
In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation announced its support for the Chicago Park District’s proposed FY2014 budget of $425.6 million which continues the District’s multi-year effort to reduce its structural deficit. The proposal leaves the District well-positioned to implement the comprehensive pension reforms passed by the Illinois General Assembly in November 2013 and now awaiting the Governor’s review. “We applaud the Chicago Park District for thoughtfully combining…
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.…
(The full content of this article is only available to the publication’s subscribers.) This article covers the release of the Civic Federation’s FY2014 Cook County Budget Analysis. The Civic Federation supports the proposed budget for holding the property tax levy flat and continuing to reduce the County’s deficit, but warns that rapidly declining pension funds could threaten that progress.
This article covers Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s October 10 address presenting her FY2014 recommended budget to the Cook County Board. The Civic Federation was supportive of initial details of the budget announcement including holding property taxes relatively flat. The Federation’s full Cook County FY2014 budget analysis was released on October 28.
This article looks at the nationwide increase of local governments and special taxing districts, focusing on Illinois’ 7,000 units of government. The Civic Federation urges greater oversight and consolidation of Illinois’ local governments. A 2006 Civic Federation report found that many Illinois townships and special taxing districts were continuing to levy property taxes despite having large fund balances in excess of one year’s spending.
