July 29, 2010
On Tuesday in New York City, the Governmental Research Association recognized the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability with its Most Distinguished Research Award for the Institute’s “A Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan for the State of Illinois."
The GRA honored the Rehab Plan for its challenging subject matter and groundbreaking nature. The report described the basis of Illinois’ current fiscal crisis and presented the Civic Federation’s plan to salvage the State’s finances. The plan called for a comprehensive package of budget cuts, pension reforms, and revenue increases to put Illinois on solid financial footing and address its fiscal crisis.
The GRA is a national organization of non-partisan government research groups similar to the Civic Federation. Other GRA Awards are granted for Outstanding Policy Achievement and Most Effective Education.
The Fiscal Rehab Plan is the result of stellar work by the many Civic Federation Board members who gave their time and expertise to crafting the report and its recommendations, especially the members of the State Budget Committee and its co-chairmen Carol Garnant and Joseph Starshak.
We would also like to recognize the IIFS research team, led by Laurie Cohen and Peter Matuszak, for their outstanding research and analysis.
The Civic Federation expresses its gratitude to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for its support for the Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability and the Chicago Community Trust, the Joyce Foundation, and McCormick Foundation for funding the report.
Without the generous support and wise counsel of our foundation funders, the Rehab report would not have been possible.
For more information about the GRA, visit http://www.graonline.org/.