Civic Federation Blog

07.28.10

MWRD Discusses New Office Space Options, But May Dock Plans Due to Grim Budget Projections

On June 17, 2010 the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District held a study session to discuss office space options for the District’s administrative staff. Steve Weiss, owner of Weiss Architects LLC, presented a report on main office strategies that was commissioned by the District. ...

07.21.10

Cloudy Mid-Year Financials for MWRD May Mean Choppy Waters Ahead

Last week the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners held a public study session meeting to discuss its upcoming FY2011 budget and projections for what the financial year may hold. The picture staff painted was grim, with increasing expenses for the District while revenue...

07.14.10

Cook County Commissioners Approve Strategic Plan for County Health System

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 at Oak...

07.07.10

The Tentative 2009 Cook County Equalization Factor is 3.1062. What Does That Mean?

The Illinois Department of Revenue has announced that the tentative equalization factor for the Cook County 2009 property assessment year (taxes payable in late 2010) is 3.1062. The final equalization factor cannot be calculated until the Cook County Board of Review has finished hearing...

07.01.10

Cook County Sales Tax Falls by 0.5% Today

The sales tax rate on general merchandise in Cook County declines by 0.5 percentage point on July 1, 2010. This rolls back half of the 1.0 percentage point increase imposed by the Cook County Board of Commissioners effective July 1, 2008. For two years Chicago has had the highest sales tax of...

06.30.10

Sales Taxes: Reports and Projections

Last month the State of Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) released a report entitled “Sales Tax in Illinois.". According to the report, in FY2009 general revenue fund sales tax collections totaled $6.77 billion, down 6.1% from $7.21 billion in...

06.25.10

Civic Federation Luncheon Honors Abbott and John F. Sandner

On June 10th at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago, the Civic Federation honored the outstanding civic leadership of John F. Sandner, Retired Chairman and Member of the Executive Committee of CME Group, Inc., with the Lyman J. Gage Award for Outstanding Civic Contribution. Abbott, a global...

06.17.10

Is TIF the Solution to the Chicago Public Schools’ Budget Crisis?

  On June 15, 2010 the Chicago Board of Education approved measures to cope with the school district’s estimated $600 million deficit for the coming school year. The measures include authorizing the establishment of an $800 million line of credit to cover delayed state payments and...

06.16.10

Open Meetings Act in Illinois

The Illinois Open Meetings Act, 5 ILCS 120, was originally  enacted in 1957 and sets forth the rules and regulations for public meetings of governmental bodies across the state of Illinois. The policy behind this act is that “…the people have a right to be informed as to the...

06.09.10

Changes in Store for the DuPage Water Commission?

Last week the Illinois General Assembly adjourned for the summer. The House and the Senate sent numerous bills to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to either sign or veto. One such bill is Senate Bill 580, which would restructure the existing DuPage Water Commission. The DuPage Water Commission operates...