11.18.09
The Civic Federation opposes the FY2010 City of Chicago budget of $6.14 billion because it is unsustainable and relies too heavily on one-time reserve funds to close a $520.0 million budget...
Library
11.17.09
While politicians, unions and other supporters of Howe Developmental Center fight to keep it open, a new report from the U.S. Justice Department has raised more questions about Howe’s viability.
The report...
11.17.09
The purpose of this issue brief is to provide summary information on property tax appeals in Cook County, Illinois. It describes the assessment appeal process at the Cook County Assessor’s...
11.13.09
The Civic Federation has enormous concerns about the fiscal risks associated with Governor Quinn’s “deal” to avoid CTA fare increases.
Under the proposal, the Regional Transportation Authority will issue General Obligation bonds worth $83 million in both 2010 and 2011...
11.12.09
The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2010 include public pension reform, requiring state government to develop and implement performance measurement and a capital improvement plan,...
11.11.09
The State of Illinois’ inadequate funding of its employee retirement systems has already contributed to downgrades in the State’s credit ratings and will continue to affect rating decisions for many years, according to a new report by Moody’s Investors Service.
The...
11.09.09
Under the old state statute that limited the property tax rates of the Chicago Public Schools, Tax Increment Financing directly restricted property tax revenues available to CPS because it froze part of the equalized assessed value (EAV)—the tax base—available for taxation. 1 This...
11.09.09
Chicago Public Schools has received almost $400 million in Tax Increment Financing revenue from the creation of the first City of Chicago TIF in 1984 through July 2009 and is scheduled to receive over $491.3 million more according to intergovernmental agreements with the City of Chicago. CPS has...
11.06.09
The financial condition of U.S. municipalities continues to deteriorate, according to the recently-released 24th annual City Fiscal Condition Survey published by the...
11.04.09
Governor Pat Quinn plans to borrow an additional $900 million to keep the State of Illinois afloat, marking the third time since May of 2009 that the State has used short-term borrowing to offset revenue shortfalls.
The Governor said last week that he will use $205 million of the total $...