City of Chicago

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Local Government Budgets: What to Watch for in 2014

Over the next few weeks, many Chicago-area local governments will be releasing their proposed budgets for fiscal year 2014. In preparation for the upcoming budget releases, this blog will recap the Civic Federation’s significant…

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Six Chicago-Area Local Government Bond Ratings Downgraded in Three Months

Since July 2013 each of the six local governments monitored by the Civic Federation with General Obligation bond debt has experienced downgrades to their bond ratings. These governments are the City of Chicago, Cook County, the…

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Status of Chicago's Asset Lease Agreements

The long-term lease of assets by the City of Chicago is one of the most significant financial undertakings by the City in recent years. These groundbreaking transactions have received national attention and been examined by other…

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Civic Federation Releases Managed Competition Issue Brief

Managed competition is a form of alternative service delivery or public-private partnership (P3) that requires in-house service units of a government to compete with external providers under a controlled or managed process. It involves…

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Managed Competition: An Issue Brief

Managed competition is a form of alternative service delivery that requires in-house service units of a government to compete with external providers under a controlled or managed process. The purpose of this issue brief is to describe…

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Direct Debt Per Capita for Six Illinois Municipalities

Last week the Civic Federation blog featured an analysis of long-term obligations for six selected municipalities in Illinois and their…

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Unfunded Pension Liabilities Per Capita for Six Illinois Municipalities

The blogs for this week and next week will examine the long-term obligations of six selected municipalities in Illinois and their overlapping local governments using per capita indicators based on unfunded pension liabilities and bonded…

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City Releases 2013 Annual Financial Analysis: Faces $338.7 Million FY2014 Budget Gap, $1.0 Billion FY2015 Budget Gap

Last week the City of Chicago released its Annual Financial Analysis for 2013. According to an…

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Op-ed: Another opportunity the General Assembly can't afford to squander

The following opinion piece by Civic Federation President Laurence Msall was published by…

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Changes to City and County Parking Tax Structures

As described last week in the Civic Federation’s blog, the Chicago City Council recently approved an ordinance changing the City’s tiered parking tax rates to…