09.23.10
The Civic Federation often voices concerns when governments use one-time or nonrecurring revenue sources for ongoing expenses. There are a number of reasons this can be problematic. By definition such revenue sources will not be available in the future so if the government utilizes nonrecurring...
09.15.10
07.14.10
On July 14, 2010, Cook County Commissioners approved by a vote of 9 to 3 a strategic plan to reorient the County’s health system more toward outpatient care and away from inpatient hospital services.
The five-year plan calls for closing the emergency room and inpatient facilities...
06.17.10
Civic Federation Position Statement on School Vouchers June 17, 2010
The Civic Federation supports the use of vouchers to provide students in low-performing public...
06.17.10
On June 15, 2010 the Chicago Board of Education approved measures to cope with the school district’s ...
05.19.10
The Chicago School Finance Authority (SFA) is scheduled to be officially dissolved on June 1, 2010. The SFA is a separate unit of government created in 1980 by the Illinois General Assembly and charged with “promoting the financial integrity” of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) (see...
05.10.10
The ordinance that established the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (Health System) in 2008 specifically granted its independent Board of Directors the authority to participate in...
04.05.10
This report describes how the taxable value of real estate is established in Cook County, Illinois. It explains the determination of assessed value and the calculation of taxable value, including...
02.18.10
One of the Chicago Transit Authority’s ongoing fiscal challenges has been balancing the cost of providing rides on the CTA with the fares the Authority collects from its customers. CTA Board Chairman Terry Peterson announced at the Authority’s February board meeting that it costs the...
12.22.09
The redesign of the Civic Federation website in July has provided the public, government officials, and the media better access to the Federation’s analyses of government services in Illinois. The regularly-updated Civic Federation blog especially has provided a constant source of...
