Government Budgets

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Is TIF the Solution to the Chicago Public Schools’ Budget Crisis?

  On June 15, 2010 the Chicago Board of Education approved measures to cope with the school district’s…

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Civic Federation Position Statement on School Vouchers

Civic Federation Position Statement on School Vouchers June 17, 2010 The Civic Federation supports the use of vouchers to provide students in low-performing public schools with the opportunity to attend private schools. We view charter…

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States Punt on Tax Increases for FY2011

The State of Illinois is not the only cash-strapped state that shied away from major tax increases to improve its financial condition in FY2011. According to Stateline.…

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Chicago School Board opens door to 35 in a class

This article discusses how the Chicago Public School system plans to balance its FY2011 budget with a combination of class size increases and borrowing. The Civic Federation questioned why CPS would opt to increase class size without…

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Our View: Illinois continues to fail to live up to pension obligations

This editorial opposes the policy decisions that have led to the dire state of Illinois’ pension system. The Civic Federation says the threat that Illinois’ pensions will run out of money is very real and that Illinois’ police and…

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Big State, Big Cuts, Little Room

The Civic Federation is quoted in this article that details the challenges facing Illinois government agencies in their efforts to reduce expenditures to help the State balance its budget.

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Changes in Store for the DuPage Water Commission?

Last week the Illinois General Assembly adjourned for the summer. The House and the Senate sent numerous bills to Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to either sign or veto. One such bill is Senate Bill 580, which would restructure the existing…

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Daley rules out property tax increase next year

This article is about Mayor Daley’s plans to hold the City of Chicago’s property tax levy flat for next year’s budget. The Civic Federation says the City should explore options other than increasing taxes to balance its budget in the…

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Watchdog Urges Quinn to Veto State Budget

In this news segment about the Illinois legislature’s passage of an unbalanced budget that would leave the State further behind on its paying its bills, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall calls on Governor Quinn to veto the budget…

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States Worry Medicaid Stimulus to End, Adding to Budget Woes

Illinois and many other states drafted budget plans for FY2011 based on the assumption that Congress would extend the expiration date for enhanced federal Medicaid funding by six months—from December 31, 2010 to June 30, 2011. Now that…