The following are the five most read posts presented by the Civic Federation blog in 2015. These posts examine a number of closely followed local government issues, ranging from City and County taxes to Chicago pension debt. Where Do Your Property Taxes Go? April 7, 2015 This blog post outlines how property taxes are distributed by describing how property tax dollars were proposed to be…
FY2016 Budget Season Summary December 3, 2015 marked the end of the budget season for the eight local governments monitored by the Civic Federation. These governments include: the City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, City of Chicago, Cook County, Chicago Transit Authority, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and Chicago…
This annual report compares estimated effective property tax rates in the six-county region of northeastern Illinois between 2004 and 2013, the last year for which data are available. Among the 12 selected Cook County communities that the Civic Federation analyzed, Harvey had the highest effective tax rate for residential properties at 8.08% in tax year 2013, and Chicago had the lowest…
The City of Chicago’s FY2016 budget proposes to implement a monthly solid waste removal fee of $9.50 on households, which is projected to generate $62.7 million in new revenue.[1] Currently the City of Chicago spends approximately $244 million per year on solid waste removal services. The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation currently provides solid waste removal services free of charge…
The Civic Federation supports the City of Chicago’s proposed $7.8 billion budget and necessary property tax increase as a long overdue action to address the City’s public safety pension funding crisis. The total proposed property tax increase of $544.2 million over four years will be dedicated entirely to fund the Police and Fire pension funds. This unprecedented infusion of property taxes is a…
On September 22, 2015, Mayor Rahm Emanuel released the City of Chicago FY2016 Budget, which includes a nearly $1.3 billion property tax levy, an increase of $427.7 million over the originally adopted FY2015 budget. The property tax levy would be dedicated to the Police and Fire pension funds. In addition, the Mayor has proposed a property tax exemption that would exclude homeowners of homes with…
Financial Indicators Report, FY2009 to FY2013 Financial Indicators Executive Summary, FY2009 to FY2013 This report uses nine indicators of financial condition to measure the relative financial performance of Chicago and 12 other major U.S. cities from FY2009 to FY2013, which marked the end of the Great Recession and beginning of recovery for most cities. The financial trends for Chicago, New…
The City of Chicago recently released its Annual Financial Analysis for 2015. According to an executive order issued by Mayor Rahm Emanuel on May 20, 2011, the Office of Budget and Management is mandated to produce a financial analysis of the City budget by July 31st of each year. The report includes: A financial condition analysis that covers the previous ten years, including a discussion of…
UPDATE: On September 9, 2015, a lawsuit challenging the streaming services was filed on behalf of seven plaintiffs against the City of Chicago. The plaintiffs argue that because they subscribe to various streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu and Spotify, they “are harmed because they must pay the tax,” on such services. The lawsuit also claims that the comptroller exceeded his authority…
On June 17, 2015 the Chicago City Council approved the largest borrowing of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s tenure, totaling $1.1 billion. The issuance pays for the current costs of refinancing the City of Chicago’s variable rate debt, ending its outstanding swaps, extending the life of other long-term bonds and paying for a variety of judgements and settlements. Newly appointed Chief Financial Officer…
