Annie McGowan

Annie McGowan is Research Director at the Civic Federation. In this role, Annie supports the Federation’s research and policy work on state and local government budget and tax issues, with a special focus on the City of Chicago, Cook County, Chicago Public Schools and State of Illinois government. Annie also specializes in the Federation’s work on criminal justice system issues, including the Cook County Courts and Jail system, Chicago policing and statewide pretrial reform issues. 

Annie joined the Civic Federation as a Senior Research Associate in June 2016 and later moved into a new role at the Federation focusing on criminal justice research and policy in September 2019, before being promoted to Deputy Director of Research in November 2022. 

Annie serves on behalf of the Civic Federation as the Secretary of the Governmental Research Association, a national organization of individuals and organizations engaged in government research. 

Prior to joining the Civic Federation in 2016, Annie earned a Master of Public Administration degree from University of Illinois Chicago in December 2015 and worked in a variety of roles at nonprofit organizations focused on human services and policy-advocacy. These included the Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois Partners for Human Service and the Hope Institute for Children and Families. Annie holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Urban Affairs and Spanish from Marquette University.