09.25.13
Police, parks, streets, schools, community colleges, public hospitals, elections, courts, jails, mosquito abatement, sewage treatment…these are just a few of the services that, in Illinois, are provided by many different local governments. Illinois has more units of local government than any...
09.24.13
The surprise expansion of gambling to all corners of Illinois in the form of legalized video poker that was enacted by the General Assembly has not been well received by many residents or local governments. A recent poll conducted by the Chicago Tribune showed that nearly 60% of Illinois...
09.21.13
August 14, 2009’s Civic Federation blog post, “ Tweeting Towards Transparency (Part 1) ,” discussed how the Cook County Board’s Twitter account has helped make the proceedings of county board and...
09.18.13
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 operation of its core programs while reducing its property tax levy...
09.18.13
A few local governments in Cook County have recently begun utilizing Twitter , a free micro-blogging website, in order to provide quick updates on relevant developments and information about governmental services. These local governments’ Twitter accounts...
09.15.13
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 previous year. However, many property owners will still...
09.13.13
Over the years, Illinois’ poorly funded retirement systems have put an enormous strain on the State’s budget. At times, the State has chosen to simply avoid the burden by making smaller contributions to the pension funds than required under a 1995 pension funding law.
As part of the $54...
09.06.13
09.06.13
Earlier this spring the Civic Federation opposed the $26 billion capital plan proposed by Governor Quinn because it was unaffordable over time and was not based on a capital...
09.05.13
The Governor’s office recently published its first official document that included details of the revenues and expenditures approved by the General Assembly for FY2010 fiscal year. The Official Statement accompanying the sale of $1.25 billion in short term debt on August 20, 2009 includes new...
