Government Budgets

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Illinois’s Quinn Says Budget-Cutting Governors Have It Wrong

This article profiles the fiscal troubles facing Illinois Governor Pat Quinn as he tries to balance the State’s budget. It…

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Governor’s Budget Proposes Increases to Agency Spending

Although it includes deep cuts to some agencies and programs, the FY2012 budget proposed by Governor Pat Quinn includes increases in other areas that would more than offset the reductions. In all, the proposed budget for FY2012 would…

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Cook County Health System Facing Difficult Budget Goal in FY2011

Cook County plans to reduce financial assistance to its Health and Hospitals System by nearly 33% this year, from $411.5 million in FY2010 to $276.3 million in FY2011. The County will face major challenges related to the Health System’s…

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Watchdog group praises Preckwinkle, but dings her, too

In this blog post, Greg Hinz discusses the conclusions of the Civic Federation's "Cook County Modernization 100-Day Accountability Report." The Federation found…

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Emanuel eyes cut in council seats

This article details reactions to Mayor-Elect Rahm Emanuel's suggestion that the City of Chicago consider reducing the number of aldermen in the City Council from 50 to 25. The Civic Federation is quoted saying that most other major U.S.…

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Cook County Budget Shortfalls

The Cook County Modernization 100-Day Accountability Report is a follow up report to the Civic Federation’s October 2010 Cook County Modernization Report. The new…

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Civic Federation Finds Considerable Progress Toward Cook County Modernization

Concerns Remain about Independence of the Health System, Future Budgets (CHICAGO) A new Civic Federation report released today finds that Cook County has made considerable progress toward modernizing its operations, but still faces…

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Cook County Modernization 100-Day Accountability Report

The Civic Federation’s Cook County Modernization 100-Day Accountability Report continues the work of our Cook County Modernization Project. This report includes detailed information on the status of all 36 recommendations from the Civic…

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State Deficit Expected to Decline in FY2011 Due to Tax Increases and Borrowing

After three years of increasing budget deficits, the State of Illinois is expected to see a smaller budget gap at the end of FY2011 because of tax increases and expanded borrowing for operations. The FY2011 year-end deficit is currently…

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Preckwinkle calls for employee sacrifices

In this article about Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle's moves to reform County government, the Civic Federation says that the County is moving in a positive direction and is more transparent in its operations.