Taxes and Fees

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Effective Property Tax Rates 1999-2008: Selected Municipalities in Northeastern Illinois

This report compares effective property tax rates in selected communities around metropolitan Chicago and finds that while all communities’ effective tax rates increased in 2008, rates have mostly declined since 1999. The report also finds…

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State of Illinois Owes $730 Million in Corporate Tax Refunds

It’s no secret that the financially troubled State of Illinois owes billions of dollars in unpaid bills. What is not as widely known is that the State also owes $730 million in corporate income tax refunds, according to the Illinois…

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City Colleges Tuition Costs Still Competitive

On August 5, the Civic Federation released its analysis of the FY2011 City Colleges Tentative Annual Operating…

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Parking Meters Company Posts Profit While City’s Bank is Low

This news segment details how the City of Chicago had only $2.7 million in reserves at the end of FY2009. The Civic Federation says the City should have cash reserves of at least $200 million given the size of its operating budget.

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Reasonable City Colleges Budget Lessens Impact on Taxpayers, But Lacks Specific Plan to Bridge Future Budget Gaps

The Civic Federation will announce its support for the proposed $581.9 million FY2011 City Colleges of Chicago budget at a public hearing today. The Federation’s 41-page analysis found that the proposed budget plans a $3.0 million…

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City Colleges of Chicago FY2011 Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the City Colleges FY2011 proposed budget totaling $581.9 million, which includes $454.4 million for the operating budget and $127.5 million for capital improvements. The City Colleges is proposing to reduce…

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New TIF Transparency Reforms Enacted

A tax increment financing (TIF) transparency bill (Public Act 096-1335) passed by the Illinois legislature in May and signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn on…

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Estimated Value of Cook County Real Estate Fell by $40.3 Billion in 2008

Updated August 5, 2010 to reflect revised data from the Illinois Department of Revenue CHICAGO – The full market value of real estate in Cook County was approximately $616.2 billion in tax year 2008 according to an annual estimate…

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Sales Tax Holiday Could Prove Complicated

Despite a $2 billion drop in the State’s annual revenues in FY2010 , the General Assembly passed Governor Pat…

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The Tentative 2009 Cook County Equalization Factor is 3.1062. What Does That Mean?

The Illinois Department of Revenue has announced that the tentative equalization factor for the Cook County 2009 property assessment year (taxes payable in late 2010) is…