Cook County

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Open County Initiative Takes Steps towards Improving County Transparency

Cook County has recently taken efforts to improve its transparency and accountability to the public through its Open County…

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Civic Federation Position Statement on Senate Bill 1946

The Civic Federation supports the Illinois General Assembly’s first steps toward comprehensive public pension reform in Illinois and urges state leaders to implement further reforms. On Wednesday, March 24, 2010, the Illinois General…

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Local Pension Investment Returns—Is the Risk Worth the Reward?

All ten Chicago-area local government pension funds analyzed annually by the Civic Federation had negative investment returns in fiscal year 2008 for a total investment…

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Local Pension Unfunded Liabilities Hit $18.5 Billion

The total unfunded liabilities of the ten major Chicago-area public pension funds reached $18.5 billion in fiscal year 2008. That is an increase…

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Status of Local Pension Funding Fiscal Year 2008: An Evaluation of Ten Local Government Employee Pension Funds in Cook County

This report analyzes basic financial data on ten major local government employee pension funds in Cook County. It is intended to provide lawmakers, pension trustees, pension fund members and taxpayers with the information they need to…

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Cook County’s New Online Check Register Gives Public Access to County Spending Records

This February Cook County launched a new online check register that gives the public access to how the County spends its…

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Separate so they can be Equal: The Case for Creating a Separate Board of Commissioners for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County

On February 2, 2010 Illinois will hold its primary election. The position of Cook County Board President and all Cook County Commissioner seats are on the ballot. Many issues pertaining to Cook County government have been debated during…

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Recent Changes Made to Chicago Sales Tax, Amusement Tax and Alcohol Tax

Click here to read the Civic Federation’s February 2014 updated list of selected consumer taxes in the City of Chicago. In December of 2009, the Civic…

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Civic Federation Blog Provides Rapid Response Analysis

The redesign of the Civic Federation website in July has provided the public, government officials, and the media better access to the Federation’s analyses of government services in Illinois. The regularly-updated Civic Federation blog…

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Selected Consumer Taxes in the City of Chicago: December 2009

This brief provides an updated compilation of selected consumer taxes, including rates and descriptions, in effect in the City of Chicago on December 1, 2009.  It includes such taxes as the sales tax, gas tax, amusement tax, lease tax…