The Civic Federation will announce its support for the proposed $492.1 million FY2010 City Colleges of Chicago budget at public hearing today. The Federation’s 39-page analysis found that the proposed budget compensates for uncertain State funding and will hold the City Colleges property tax levy flat for the next two years. Visit civicfed.org to download the report and read staff blog posts about the budget. “The Civic Federation believes the City Colleges’ responsible FY2010 budget sets a…
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…
On July 21, 2009 the Finance Committee of the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to roll back the county’s sales tax rate from 1.75% to 1.25%. If adopted, the amendment would take effect January 1, 2010 and lower the aggregate sales tax rate in the City of Chicago to 9.75%. Aggregate sales tax rates in Suburban Cook County would range between 8.5% and 9.75%, depending on the municipality. The vote came after a discussion of the county’s Revenue Report, which revealed that as of…
On June 30, 2009 the Chicago City Council passed a resolution asking the Civic Federation to conduct a review of the financial projections made by Chicago 2016 for the City’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Specifically, the resolution asked the Federation to deliver a report and recommendations to the City Council on Chicago’s financing of the 2016 games and any financial impact on taxpayers. On July 14, 2009, the Civic Federation accepted the City Council’s request and agreed to…
In this news segment about a proposed increase to the Illinois income tax, the Civic Federation expresses concerns that too much of the focus in Springfield is on raising taxes, rather than fixing the state’s current fiscal problems. The Federation notes that it could support a small increase in the income tax, provided that state pensions are properly funded.
This report analyzes the public funding for 12 major cultural institutions in Cook County that receive property tax-based funding from the Chicago Park District or the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. It makes recommendations for alternative funding sources that could stabilize the public funding for these and other institutions.
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 urges Cook County Commissioners to reject the proposed $2.9 billion FY2009 County operating budget, which is based on $364.0 million in ill-considered borrowing for operational expenses.
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.
The Civic Federation supports the MWRD's FY2009 Budget because it minimizes the burden on taxpayers and demonstrates reasonable financial planning. The Civic Federation recommends that the District pursue numerous pension reforms in order to improve the declining fiscal health of the pension fund.
