By Lily PadulaEvery day, Illinois residents navigate a web of roads that shape how we live and work. Whether it’s a smooth morning commute or a frustrating encounter with a pothole, the conditions of our roads affect us all. We expect…
By Lily PadulaFrom suburban streets to urban thoroughfares, Cook County’s roads reflect not only their asphalt conditions but also the varied priorities, fiscal capacities, and policy choices of the jurisdictions that maintain them.…
by Grant McClintockChicago is the only major city in the United States that operates without a constitution, which for cities is referred to as a charter. Chicago’s outlier status in how it governs itself is reflected in structural…
By Lily Padula Illinois has the largest number of local government units of any state in the U.S., at a whopping 8,923 local governments as of 2019, according to a Civic Federation report…
By Lily PadulaThe Civic Federation has long advocated for the abolition of unnecessary, duplicative, and unaccountable units of local government, including townships. These proliferate in greater number in Illinois, which has…
The Civic Federation recommends that the Cook County Mosquito Abatement Districts be dissolved and their responsibilities absorbed into Cook County government. In a new report released today, the Federation cites longstanding concerns…
The Civic Federation shares a comprehensive report to spur and guide the Governor and Illinois General Assembly in conducting a holistic re-set of the State’s fiscal structure and adopting a more strategic approach to budgeting that…
The new joint report finds the County’s early implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act has been mostly smooth due to advance preparation and prior reforms. Initial data show that since the Act took effect, there has been a decrease in…
