Civic Federation Blog

05.10.12

Mayor Emanuel Proposes Significant Pension Reform

On Tuesday, May 8, 2012, Mayor Rahm Emanuel offered a plan to reform pensions for employees of the City of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Park District during a hearing of the Illinois House of Representatives Personnel and Pensions Committee. The Civic Federation is encouraged by...

05.09.12

National Recognition for Civic Federation Research

Last week, the Governmental Research Association announced the winners of their annual awards and it was a clean sweep for the Civic Federation. The Governmental Research Association (GRA) is the national organization of individuals professionally engaged in governmental research. The Federation...

05.02.12

$520 Million Capital Plan for the City Colleges of Chicago

On December 12, 2011, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the College to Careers initiative for the City Colleges of Chicago. The new initiative addresses the need to fill an estimated approximately 100,000 jobs that are expected to be available in Chicago between now and 2020.[1] College to Careers...

04.26.12

Chicago City Council Approves Infrastructure Trust

On April 24, 2012, the City Council passed an ordinance establishing an Infrastructure Trust for the City of Chicago. Introduced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Trust is an alternative source of funding that will be used to attract private sector funds to rebuild the City’s aging infrastructure....

04.18.12

Cook County Announces New Alternative Service Delivery Initiatives

Last week, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced two alternative service delivery initiatives: 1) managed competition for County custodial services; and 2) third-party administration of the County’s employee absence and leave management.[1] In its 2010 Cook County...

04.11.12

Changes to the Forest Preserve District’s Resident Watchmen Program

In return for watching over District land and serving as a deterrent to crime or misuse, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County rents housing on its property to employees at drastically discounted rates through its Resident Watchmen Program. On October 28, 2011, the District announced plans...

04.04.12

One Fewer Illinois Government? Evanston Voters Favor Dissolving Township.

Evanston voters overwhelmingly approved a non-binding advisory referendum to dissolve Evanston Township in the March 20, 2012 election. Election results show that 66.9% of voters supported the measure while 33.0% opposed it. Legally dissolving the township will require action by the General...

03.28.12

Debt Service Expenditure Ratio in Large Cities

This blog continues the Civic Federation’s examination of indicators that can be used to assess the financial health of local governments. The Federation is working on a project that compares the City of Chicago with a group of thirteen large U.S. cities that have also been the subject of...

03.21.12

The Cook County Property Tax Administration Office

At its next meeting, the Committee on Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations of the Cook County Board of Commissioners will consider a resolution requiring the County Assessor, Clerk, Recorder of Deeds, Treasurer and President of the Board of Commissioners to draft an interoffice agreement...

03.16.12

Public-Private Partnership Conference Looks to the Future of Government Service Delivery

On Wednesday, March 14, the Civic Federation co-hosted a conference on public-private partnerships (also known as “P3s”) with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Nearly 150 business, civic and government leaders convened to hear experts discuss their view of the future of government...