Taxes and Fees

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Devil in the details with city finances

This article looks at both mayoral candidates’ proposals for addressing the City of Chicago’s financial challenges, which include severely underfunded pension funds, a high debt level and Chicago Public Schools’ $1 billion deficit. The…

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Governor Proposes Significant Reduction in Funding to Local Governments

Under Governor Bruce Rauner’s proposed FY2016 budget, one of the largest sources of state funding for local governments in Illinois would be reduced by half. The reduction is part of more than $4 billion in spending cuts and $2.2 billion…

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Rauner pension math would mean big cuts for current state employees

This column discusses Governor Rauner’s pension reform proposal which accounts for $2.2 billion of the projected savings in his

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Illinois’ Most Expensive Tax Exemptions

The State of Illinois reduces its operating resources by more than 25% annually to provide individuals and businesses tax benefits through exemptions also known as tax expenditures. In FY2013, the most recent year that…

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Civic Federation Offers "Painful, but Necessary" Solutions to Illinois Budget Crisis

This article reviews the Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation’s FY2016 State Budget Roadmap, an annual report released prior to the…

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Can't fix Illinois' budget without tax hikes, Civic Federation says

This article discusses recommendations made in the FY2016 State Budget Roadmap, an annual report released by the Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability at the…

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Civic Federation Proposes Five-Year Plan To Stabilize Illinois Budget While Protecting Essential Government Services

In a report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability proposes a comprehensive five-year plan that responds to the dire reality of Illinois’ financial condition with painful, but necessary…

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State of Illinois FY2016 Budget Roadmap

Prior to the release of the Governor’s annual budget recommendation, the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation releases an analysis of the State of Illinois’ fiscal condition and proposes a comprehensive…

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Gov. Rauner's property tax freeze proposal gets mixed reception

This article discusses Governor Bruce Rauner’s call for a two-year freeze on the property taxes that fund local governments in Illinois. The Civic Federation warned that many local governments in Illinois are facing severe financial crises…

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Illinois Reduces Revenue Estimates for Corporate Income Taxes

The State of Illinois projected a major loss of income tax revenues in FY2015 due to the reduced rates for individuals and corporations that took effect on January 1, 2015. However, corporate income taxes have taken a steeper decline than…