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May 11, 2009
Urges General Assembly to Reject Proposed Illinois Budget
March 30, 2009
While the ten major local government employee pension funds in Cook County experienced a slight decrease in their total deficit before the onset of recession in late 2007, the Civic Federation has found that local pension funds were in trouble well before the decline in the stock market. The Federation’s annual status of local pensions report, released today, concluded that the funds’ total deficit more than tripled between FY1998 and FY2007.
March 9, 2009
Best Practices and Principles for Difficult Economic Times
CHICAGO – The Civic Federation’s new research institute, the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability, delivered to Governor Quinn and every member of the General Assembly today a detailed roadmap for addressing the state’s FY2010 Illinois budget. The first-of-its- kind in Illinois report provides an in-depth outline of best practices for a budget that would confront the state’s growing fiscal crisis.
December 19, 2008
CHICAGO—Calling the proposed FY2009 Cook County budget an exceptionally bad deal for taxpayers during extraordinarily difficult economic times, the Civic Federation’s analysis of the spending plan calls on the Board of Commissioners to reject plans to borrow any funds for County operations. The Federation opposes the $2.9 billion budget as the result of an extraordinary and irresponsible failure of County government to consider the long-term implications of its fiscal actions.
December 10, 2008
CHICAGO—The Civic Federation will announce its support for the FY2009 Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago budget at a public hearing today, citing the district’s reduction of its property tax levy, sound financial planning, and consistently transparent and comprehensive budget document. The Federation’s analysis, including full findings and recommendations on the $1.6 billion spending plan will be available today on our website, www.civicfed.org.
November 5, 2008
Given the reality of the City of Chicago’s rising expenditures, declining revenues, and growing personnel costs, the Civic Federation
supports
Mayor Daley’s painful but necessary reduction of the City’s payroll by 2,628 full-time-equivalent positions. The Federation’s full 53-page analysis of the proposed FY2009 $5.97 billion spending plan will be released on our website, www.civicfed.org, today.
October 28, 2008
Reaffirms Call for Separate Governing Board
The Cook County Forest Preserve District earned the Civic Federation’s support for its $193.6 million FY2009 spending plan by showing property tax restraint. The District’s prudent policy of maintaining adequate reserves allowed it to draw down on those reserves rather than raising taxes during a time of economic hardship for Cook County residents. The Federation will announce its position on the budget at the District’s public hearing today at 2:00 p.m.
October 22, 2008
(CHICAGO) The Civic Federation offered its qualified support for DuPage County Chairman Robert Schillerstrom’s FY2009 budget in a report released today. The Federation’s full analysis of the budget can be found at www.civicfed.org.
September 26, 2008
This primer on the proposed FY2009 State of Illinois budget provides a brief overview of the highlights of the spending plan.
September 17, 2008
Chicago commercial property tax rates down nearly 60% since 1999
CHICAGO—The effective property tax rates for Chicago commercial properties fell almost 60% between 1999 and 2006, according to an estimate released today by the Civic Federation. Tax year 2006 is the most recent year for which data is available.
