Taxes and Fees

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Prudent City Colleges Budget Prepares for Economic Uncertainty, Holds Property Tax Levy Flat

The Civic Federation will announce its support for the proposed $492.1 million FY2010 City Colleges of Chicago budget at public hearing today. The Federation’s 39-page analysis found that the proposed budget compensates for uncertain State…

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City Colleges of Chicago FY2010 Tentative Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the $492.1 million City Colleges of Chicago FY2010 budget because it is a prudent spending plan that both holds the District’s property tax levy flat over the next two years and compensates for…

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Finance Committee of the Cook County Board Approves a Partial Sales Tax Rollback

On July 21, 2009 the Finance Committee of the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to roll back the county’s sales tax rate from 1.75% to 1.25%. If adopted, the amendment would take effect January 1, 2010 and lower the aggregate…

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Civic Federation to Review Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid

On June 30, 2009 the Chicago City Council passed a resolution asking the Civic Federation to conduct a review of the financial projections made by…

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Illinois Senate OKs Income Tax Increase

In this news segment about a proposed increase to the Illinois income tax, the Civic Federation expresses concerns that too much of the focus in Springfield is on raising taxes, rather than fixing the state’s current fiscal problems. The…

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Funding Culture: The Report of the Task Force on the Public Funding of Cultural Institutions in Northeastern Illinois

This report analyzes the public funding for 12 major cultural institutions in Cook County that receive property tax-based funding from the Chicago Park District or the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. It makes recommendations for…

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Civic Federation 2009 Legislative Priorities

The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2009 include public pension reform, the dissolving of the Illinois International Port District, creating a new governing board for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, requiring all…

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Civic Federation Urges Cook County Commissioners to Reject Borrowing That May Cost Taxpayers an Additional $214 Million

The Civic Federation urges Cook County Commissioners to reject the proposed $2.9 billion FY2009 County operating budget, which is based on $364.0 million in ill-considered borrowing for operational expenses.

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Cook County FY2009 Proposed Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation opposes the Cook County FY2009 proposed budget because it is built on an unstable foundation of $364.0 million in borrowed funds to pay for operating expenses less than a year after the County raised its sales tax by…

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District FY2009 Tentative Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the MWRD's FY2009 Budget because it minimizes the burden on taxpayers and demonstrates reasonable financial planning. The Civic Federation recommends that the District pursue numerous pension reforms in order…