This report compares effective property tax rates in selected communities around metropolitan Chicago. The Civic Federation found mixed results across the region for effective tax rates in 2011 with rises in tax rates for all of the collar…
Over the last several years, several local governments in the Chicago area have taken advantage of a provision of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL or “tax caps”) that allows governments to increase their revenue beyond what…
The Civic Federation strongly supports the proposal to create an Office of Financial Analysis for the Chicago City Council. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed FY2014 budget includes funding for an Office of Financial Analysis to help vet…
The Civic Federation supports the City of Chicago’s proposed $7.0 billion budget as a reasonable short-term plan that closes approximately two-thirds of a $338.7 million budget gap with structural changes that will continue to reduce the…
This report uses nine indicators of financial condition to measure the relative financial performance of Chicago and 12 other major U.S. cities from FY2007 to FY2011. In addition to Chicago, the other cities analyzed were Baltimore, Boston…
The Motorola Solutions Foundation and the Civic Federation are pleased to announce the 2013 Motorola Solutions Foundation Excellence in Public Service Award honoree, Rosemarie S. Andolino, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Aviation…
As part of its ongoing analysis of State and local government budgets, the Civic Federation also reviews proposed capital budgets along with any planning documents provided in support of infrastructure investments. Although many…
Four large local government pension funds in the Chicago area reduced their expected investment rates of return for fiscal year 2012. While intended to make the funds’ actuarial assumptions more realistic, these decisions will also have…
