March 04, 2026
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Dear Civic Federation Community,
In periods of great transition and change, reflection matters. FY2025 was an immense year for the Civic Federation, full of milestones, successes, rapid responses, and lots of growth; more than can fit in one Annual Report. But we hope these pages exemplify what this small but mighty organization has been up to and leave you with an understanding of how large the organization looms in our city and our region.
The year started out strong in November 2024, when the Federation’s Board of Directors approved a new Strategic Plan—the first in more than a decade. Shaped and supported by a pro bono team from Crowe LLP and informed by extensive engagement with more than 250 stakeholders, the process created needed space to mine and interrogate the past. The ending document reflects both where the Civic Federation has been and where it must go to best serve the 21st-century needs of the public in the organization’s 130th year and beyond.
Throughout this process, we heard a consistent message: our community values the Civic Federation as a trusted, non-partisan, independent voice on public finance and governance, and sees opportunities to strengthen and modernize the organization to extend its impact. FY2025 marked the first year of putting that vision into action.
Across all four strategic pillars—Stronger Together, Sustain Our Future, Reimagine Engagement, and Amplify Our Voice—the Civic Federation made meaningful progress this year.
We reset and strengthened our internal governance structure and practices to better model the standards and behaviors we ask of governments, modernized fundraising and membership, re-established and expanded foundation support, and exceeded our fundraising goals for signature events. At the same time, we reimagined how we engage with members, policymakers, and the public through expanded programming, briefings, and convenings that foster informed dialogue and connection.
The Federation also remained highly visible in public discourse. While maintaining signature long-form research and analysis, we prioritized real-time short-form reports, statements, op-eds, and briefings. All of our work drove debate on major fiscal and governance issues and controversies locally and regionally, most notably concerning city, state, and Chicago Public Schools budgets and policies. Our analysis reached wider audiences than ever through growing local and national media coverage and expanded digital engagement, reinforcing the Federation as a reliable resource amidst uncertainty and decision-making.
Taken together, FY2025 was a year of self-reflective, forward progress—grounded in our mission, guided by our Strategic Plan, and made possible by the dedication of our Board, staff, partners, and supporters. We are grateful for their continued thought leadership and trust and look forward to the work ahead.
Sincerely,
Joe Ferguson
President, Civic Federation
Jill Wolowitz
Board Chair, Civic Federation
Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Ethics, Compliance & Privacy Officer - HCSC