The Civic Federation released its annual Consumer Tax...

On February 15, 2023, Governor Pritzker released the State of Illinois FY2024 Operating and Capital Budgets . The proposed budget noted revenue collections post-pandemic have continued to exceed expectations. This strong performance has prompted the...

In the current campaign for Chicago Mayor and City Council, several candidates have called for restoring the City’s employer’s expense or “head” tax, a tax that was repealed in 2014.

An employer’s expense tax, or head tax, is imposed on businesses at a flat rate based on the number of...

The State of Illinois FY2024 budget proposed by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, reflects the...

This post presents information on residential, commercial and industrial estimated effective property tax rates in northeastern Illinois municipalities in 2019, with some comparisons to rates a decade prior. The Civic Federation produces an annual estimated effective property tax rates report...

The Civic Federation has named the new acting president of the organization: Civic Federation Vice President and Research Director Sarah Wetmore.

The Civic...

A report released by the Cook County Clerk last month found that revenue from TIF districts increased to a record $1.6 billion for FY2021, including approximately...

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The Civic Federation would like to...

The Civic Federation is saddened by the news of the death of Andrew J. McKenna, a longtime civic, business, philanthropic and sports leader in Chicago and supporter and friend of the Civic Federation. Mr. McKenna passed away on Tuesday, February 7, at age 93. Mr. McKenna had been Chairman of...

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The members and staff of the Civic Federation are heartbroken to share the news of the death of our president, Laurence Msall. He passed away surrounded by family on Saturday, February 4, following complications...

On Wednesday, Jan. 18, the Civic Federation honored Chicago Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt with the 31st Annual Motorola Solutions Foundation Excellence in Public Service Award. The full award...

On February 3, 2022, Attorney General Raoul announced that the State of Illinois and local governments that signed on to the agreement will receive a total of...

The following are summaries of the five most-read posts presented on the Civic Federation’s blog in 2022, listed here in chronological order. The posts examine issues related to property taxes and inflation, the relationship between cash bail reform and crime, and the financial impact of ending...

Following Cook County voters’ approval of a higher property tax levy for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) via a...

The CTA’s FY2023 budget of $1.8 billion was approved by the Regional Transit Authority Board of Directors on December 15, 2022. This blog presents an overview of that budget as well as data for CTA fiscal plans from FY2019 through 2025.

Some of the key highlights of the current FY2023...