Taxes and Fees

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Cook commissioners, critics rock Stroger’s balanced budget proposal

This article about Cook County’s FY2010 proposed budget and the efforts to rollback the County’s one cent sales tax increase from 2008 quotes the Civic Federation. The Federation says the high Cook County sales tax rate hinders business…

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Chicago Transit Authority FY2010 Proposed Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) proposed FY2010 budget of $1.29 billion. Facing significant public funding short falls, CTA plans to close its $300.9 million deficit with fare increases ranging from 25…

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Cook County FY2010 Proposed Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation opposes Cook County’s $3.0 billion FY2010 operating budget because it is predicated on the continuation of an unnecessary one percentage point sales tax increase and provides limited evidence of cost-saving…

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Weathering the Financial Storm in DuPage County

 The Civic Federation released its analysis of the FY2010 DuPage County budget yesterday. In it the Federation announced its support for the County’s proposed financial plan due in large part to the County’s ability to maintain…

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DuPage County FY2010 Proposed Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the $521.2 million FY2010 DuPage County budget proposal because it maintains funding for core programs while providing property tax relief. The County has additionally improved its budget planning process and…

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New Cook County health board faces showdown with Todd Stroger

This article about recent criticisms of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System Board cites a Civic Federation analysis of the County budget, particularly its funding from the recent increase to the Cook County sales tax. The…

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Will my property tax bill go up or down?

The property tax rates released yesterday by the Cook County Clerk show that the composite tax rates in the City of Chicago and many municipalities declined slightly from the…

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Increased Unemployment Corrodes State Revenues

The State of Illinois’ personal income tax revenue for FY2010 is now expected to be $850 million lower than projected when the budget was approved in July 2009, according to David…

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Fare Hike Plan Not Affecting Freebies For Seniors

This news story is about the CTA’s proposed fare increase to bridge a $180 million budget gap and its possible effect on the program that allows senior citizens to ride the CTA, Metra, and Pace for free. The Civic Federation points out…

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‘Real’ property tax rate headed up

In this blog post, Greg Hinz discusses the Civic Federation’s report comparing effective property tax rates in selected Chicago-area communities. The report concluded that the residential effective tax rate has risen or remained flat in…