The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2010 include public pension reform, requiring state government to develop and implement performance measurement and 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 produce timely annual audits, enacting tax increment financing reporting reform,…
The Civic Federation supports the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s FY2010 Tentative Budget of nearly $1.7 billion as a prudent response to revenue shortfalls. The MWRD plans to prioritize spending, control personnel costs, and implement a modest increase to its property tax levy to balance its budget. The Federation cautions the District, however, that substantial changes may be necessary to stem growing pension liabilities. The Federation recommends that the District pursue employer…
The Civic Federation offers qualified support for the FY2010 Chicago Park District’s proposed operating budget of $391.9 million. The District is proposing a responsible budget that reduces expenditures and holds the property tax levy flat by using operating efficiencies, personnel cuts and a modest increase in certain fees to balance the budget. This support is qualified because the District’s budget proposes closing $7.7 million of its budget gap with proceeds from the parking garage lease…
The Civic Federation commends the Cook County Board for voting 12-5 to roll back half of last year’s one percentage point sales tax hike and for overriding President Todd Stroger’s veto. The Federation considers this a victory for overburdened County taxpayers and for the County businesses that have suffered as a result of the tax. The Civic Federation has long opposed the unnecessary sales tax increase and has repeatedly called for its repeal, most recently in our analysis of…
This article describes the politics surrounding a vote by the Cook County Board of Commissioners to reduce the county sales tax by a half-cent. It cites the Civic Federation’s analysis of the County’s proposed FY2009 budget.
The Civic Federation opposes the FY2010 City of Chicago budget of $6.14 billion because it is unsustainable and relies too heavily on one-time reserve funds to close a $520.0 million budget deficit. The proposed drastic draw down of long-term reserves allows for increased spending in FY2010 but does not properly plan for the future. The City must consider FY2011 and FY2012 when crafting its FY2010 budget as the City’s revenues are not likely to rebound enough in the next 12 months to replace…
(CHICAGO) A new report released today by the Civic Federation explains the assessment appeal process at the Cook County Assessor’s Office and the Board of Review and includes data on the number and type of real estate parcels filing appeals at those offices between 2000 and 2008. It also describes the available avenues to appeal property assessments at the Property Tax Appeal Board or in the court system. The Civic Federation produced this report in order to provide the public with more…
The purpose of this issue brief is to provide summary information on property tax appeals in Cook County, Illinois. It describes the assessment appeal process at the Cook County Assessor’s Office and the Cook County Board of Review and includes data on the number and type of real estate parcels filing appeals at those offices from 2000 to 2008. It also describes avenues to appeal property assessments at the Property Tax Appeal Board or in the court system. Read the press release for this…
Under the old state statute that limited the property tax rates of the Chicago Public Schools, Tax Increment Financing directly restricted property tax revenues available to CPS because it froze part of the equalized assessed value (EAV)—the tax base—available for taxation.1 This rate limit statute still exists, but it no longer impacts the school district’s tax levy due to the introduction of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL, often called “tax caps”) in 1995, which limits…
Chicago Public Schools has received almost $400 million in Tax Increment Financing revenue from the creation of the first City of Chicago TIF in 1984 through July 2009 and is scheduled to receive over $491.3 million more according to intergovernmental agreements with the City of Chicago. CPS has used TIF funding to renovate or build elementary and high schools and is planning to use $14 million for ADA accessibility improvements to 15 schools. Approximately 45% of the $399.0 million received so…
