Government Budgets

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FY2024 Illinois Federal Grants Dashboard

As the role of the federal government in funding state and local governments has shifted rapidly, it has become important to understand what federal funding looks like on a state-level basis. This dashboard provides detailed information on…

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Local Pension Dashboard

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…

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What is Equity-Based Budgeting?

By Lily PadulaDownload a PDF of the report here.Equity-based budgeting is a framework for distributing government resources in a way…

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Chicago Public Schools FY2026 Budget Overview

Click to read the full report.EXECUTIVE SUMMARYOn August 28th, 2025, Chicago Public Schools (CPS, or the “District”) passed a…

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Mayor’s Budget Working Group Report: The Start of a Long Overdue Conversation

Read the Civic Federation's statement on the Budget Working Group's Report here.The City of Chicago faces one of its largest…

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Setting the Record Straight: How Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Actually Interacts with the Chicago Public Schools

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…

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The State of Illinois FY2026 Enacted Budget

This report was updated on August 22, 2025 to incorporate additional details on K-12 Education.by Lily PadulaOn May 31, the Illinois General Assembly passed three budget bills for the 2026 fiscal year: the appropriations bill, which…

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Confronting CPS’ Deficit and Structural Issues

The following is testimony delivered by Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson to the Illinois House Executive Committee at a July 31, 2025 hearing on Chicago Public Schools' finances. The original testimony has been edited slightly for…

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Examining Illinois' Public Workforce: Three Decades of State Personnel Trends

By Lily Padula Over the past three decades, the Illinois state government's personnel levels have undergone notable shifts, shaped by economic cycles, policy changes, and evolving administrative practices. The number of full-time…

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Gov. JB Pritzker blames 'Trump slump' for difficult budget year

by Mitchell ArmentroutJune 16, 2025