Taxes and Fees

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Assessor Houlihan's Neighborhood Preservation Homeowner's Exemption

The Civic Federation offered qualified support for Cook County Assessor Houlihan's proposal to limit homestead assessment increases to 7% annually. The proposal is contained in Amendment #2 to Senate Bill 1498, and would replace the…

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District FY2004 Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation commended the MWRD for its FY2004 budget of $848.3 million because the District reduced its property tax levy by $2.7 million from the tentative FY2004 budget proposal, it drew down its Corporate Fund balance from a…

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A Snapshot of Regional Finance in Northeastern Illinois 1997-2000

This report presents a macro-level overview of expenditure, revenue, debt and personnel trends of 1,043 governments in Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane, McHenry, and Will Counties. It includes FY1997 and FY2000 comparative information for…

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Cook County FY2004 Proposed Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation opposed the County’s $2.99 billion FY2004 budget because it does not reduce operational expenditures or implement increased efficiencies and It is balanced by means of two new and unnecessary revenue enhancements: an…

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Forest Preserve District of Cook County FY2004 Proposed Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation was disappointed in the Forest Preserve District’s FY2004 operating budget of $140.8 million for several reasons. There was insufficient time--only 4 working days--permitted this year for public review of the budget…

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Assessor Houlihan's Neighborhood Preservation Homeowner's Exemption

The Civic Federation was unable to support this proposal because a lack of both available information and formal legislative language to which we could refer prevented us from fully analyzing the consequences of this property tax exemption.

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A Call for the Elimination of the Suburban Cook County Tuberculosis Sanitarium District

This report analyzes the Suburban Cook County TB Sanitarium District and finds that this special taxing District is no longer necessary because of comparatively inefficient delivery of services and questionable financial management. The…

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Chicago Park District FY2004 Proposed Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supported the Chicago Park District's $351 million FY2004 budget because of the District's history of implementing management efficiencies and cost cutting measures and the progress it has made in shifting revenues…

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Mayor Daley's Property Tax Exemption Proposals

Despite the limitations of Mayor Daley's property tax exemption proposals, The Civic Federation supported them with a number of cautions. The Civic Federation is concerned about the cost of administering the system, increased complexity of…

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City of Chicago FY2004 Proposed Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supported Chicago’s FY2004 budget of $4.8 billion because: 1) the City has made continued efforts to control personal services costs by reducing personnel over time; 2) The City’s net appropriation has increased an…