Taxes and Fees

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Increased Unemployment Corrodes State Revenues

The State of Illinois’ personal income tax revenue for FY2010 is now expected to be $850 million lower than projected when the budget was approved in July 2009, according to David…

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Fare Hike Plan Not Affecting Freebies For Seniors

This news story is about the CTA’s proposed fare increase to bridge a $180 million budget gap and its possible effect on the program that allows senior citizens to ride the CTA, Metra, and Pace for free. The Civic Federation points out…

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‘Real’ property tax rate headed up

In this blog post, Greg Hinz discusses the Civic Federation’s report comparing effective property tax rates in selected Chicago-area communities. The report concluded that the residential effective tax rate has risen or remained flat in…

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Chicagoans, can you spare $10,037?

Data from the most recent audited financial statements of Illinois’ state and local government pension funds shows that the total unfunded liabilities for pensions supported by the taxes of Chicago residents reached $10,037 per capita for…

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Chicago TIF Still Cloudy, Even Under Sunshine Ordinance

One of the Civic Federation’s ongoing concerns has been transparency in the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) by the City of Chicago and State of Illinois. Although the Civic Federation supports the use of TIF as municipal economic…

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Comparing Property Tax Burdens Across Communities

This week the Civic Federation released its annual Effective Property Tax Rates report. The report…

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Property Tax Burden Rose in 2007 for Many Northeastern Illinois Communities - Effective Property Tax Rates in Chicago are Still Among the Lowest

 CHICAGO – Many communities across northeastern Illinois experienced a slight increase in their property tax burden in 2007 as effective tax rates rose, according to an estimate released today by the Civic Federation. Chicago…

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Effective Property Tax Rates 1999-2007: Selected Municipalities in Northeastern Illinois

This report compares effective property tax rates in selected communities around metropolitan Chicago and finds that many communities experienced a slight increase in their property tax burden in 2007. However, Chicago continues to have…

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Report Looks at Impact of Olympics on Taxpayers

Laurence Msall, President of the Civic Federation, is interviewed for this segment of the City Room news program about the Federation’s fiscal analysis of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid. He points out that taxpayers face the greatest risk if…

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How Does the City of Chicago Spend Your Tax Dollars?

Did you ever wonder how your property tax dollars are spent by the City of Chicago? How many people work for the Department of Streets and Sanitation? How much those employees are paid? What kinds of taxes and fees the City levies and how…