While Illinois lawmakers remain gridlocked over a State budget plan, another area shows promise of compromise in Springfield: government consolidation. With over 6,900 local government units, Illinois has…
The Cook County Circuit Court recently ruled that the City of Chicago cannot tax other tobacco products according to Illinois state law. The City’s home rule tax on these products was expected to bring in $6.0 million in revenue. Other…
The Cook County Board of Commissioners has reorganized its board meeting proceedings in an effort to streamline board meetings. Beginning in January 2017, the Consent Calendar portion of the meeting is now held on the second Tuesday of…
Each year the Civic Federation releases an Estimated Effective Property Tax Rates report for 28 selected…
The following are the five most read posts presented by the Civic Federation blog in 2016. These posts examine issues ranging from local government consolidation to pension funding reform. …
On November 8, 2016, the Cook County electorate voted on the binding referendum to merge the Office of the Cook County Recorder of Deeds and the Office of the Cook County Clerk. The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted in June 2016 to…
The Civic Federation supports Cook County’s proposed FY2017 budget of $4.4 billion because it is reasonable, including expenditure reductions and revenue measures that will balance the County’s budgets through FY2019. The FY2017 budget…
