by Daniel VeseckyIn 2019, the City of Chicago (Chicago or the ‘City’) had a budget of $8.9 billion, excluding grants from the State of Illinois (Illinois or the ‘State’) and the Federal government. By 2025, expenditures had grown to $12.4…
By Grant McClintock and Daniel VeseckyThe introduction of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed FY2026 budget on October 16 provides Chicagoans with insight into how this administration proposes to address a $1.2 billion budget deficit…
by Grant McClintock Download the report summarySee the Civic Federation's…
by Grant McClintockChicago is the only major city in the United States that operates without a constitution, which, for cities, is referred to as a charter. This absence is not just an anomaly; it fundamentally impacts every aspect of our…
The Civic Federation’s Local Pension Dashboard is intended for use as a resource and educational tool to increase the accessibility of local pension fund data. The dashboard reports metrics for the ten major local pension funds within the…
Read the Civic Federation's statement on the Budget Working Group's Report here.The City of Chicago faces one of its largest…
by Daniel VeseckyTax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts are a complex, often misunderstood part of Chicago’s tax structure. TIF Districts segment and dedicate a portion of property tax collections within a designated geographic area to…
by Grant McClintockChicago is the only major city in the United States that operates without a constitution, which for cities is referred to as a charter. Chicago’s outlier status in how it governs itself is reflected in structural…
by A.D. Quig, Olivia Olander, and Jeremy…
