What We Do
About Us
The Civic Federation is an independent, non-partisan government research organization that provides robust and objective fiscal analysis, recommendations, and oversight for the benefit of civic and business leaders, the media, and the general public in Chicago and the State of Illinois. Founded in 1894 to address deep concerns about the city's economic and political climate at the turn of the century, the Federation has been a civic leader in Chicago and Illinois for 130 years. In the past ten years alone, the Federation’s track record includes publishing over 600 long and short-form reports and budget analyses of 11 different state and local government entities and fiscal-adjacent policy issues.
Vision
The Civic Federation's vision is that all residents and leaders in Illinois and the Chicago region are empowered with the education, insights, and fact-based research to effectively advocate for and promote sound government practices and policies.
Values
Mission
The mission of the Civic Federation is to provide objective research, analysis and recommendations that:
• Champion efficient delivery of high-quality government services
• Promote sustainable tax policies and responsible long-term financial planning
• Improve government transparency and accountability
• Educate and serve as a resource for policymakers, opinion leaders and the broader public
Research
The Civic Federation's research includes a mixture of planned long-term reports and short-form research on the finances of Illinois and Chicago government entities. The Civic Federation has a long history of deep research around topics of significant relevance or impact to our region. These widely respected projects cover a full range of civic issues, pensions, property tax, public transit, criminal justice, and education.
Until 2019, the Civic Federation produced annual reports on the State of Illinois budget and eight local Chicago-based governments. In 2020, the Federation narrowed its focus to the four largest State and local governments—State of Illinois, City of Chicago, Cook County, and Chicago Public Schools.
Today, the Civic Federation embraces new ideas and opportunities for growth, including a shift towards creating proactive research reports that provide government officials with clear recommendations and areas of concern. The Federation also engages in collaborations with other leading civic institutions that address the region’s biggest fiscal and structural challenges.
Visit the Civic Federation Library for recent research reports.
Information
The Civic Federation serves a broad range of communities and audiences as a reliable resource and educator on local governments’ most pressing fiscal issues. The Federation works to raise awareness, foster understanding, and elevate the importance of complicated financial concepts to everyday taxpayers and the general public.
In addition to long-term research and special projects, the Civic Federation continually monitors the finances of the governments it researches. Legacy media organizations, local media, digital media, and national media organizations, rely on information generated by the Federation as an objective viewpoint on local government, and we regularly provide briefings and education on our own publications.
Action
The Civic Federation serves as a reliable resource on government matters for the public sector. Elected government officials, non-elected staff and officials, and policy working groups frequently review and implement our recommendations. Opinion leaders, the media and the public look to us for independent, reliable information about subjects that require government cooperation, such as controlling the cost of employee pension benefits or improving government transparency.
Governmental Research Association
As a member of the Governmental Research Association (GRA), the Civic Federation benefits from the expertise of a network of similar organizations across the nation providing in-depth, independent, nonpartisan public policy research. Learn more on the GRA website.
