When the Chicago City Council approved the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Sunshine Amendment in April of 2009 that called for the creation of a consolidated and enhanced TIF information website, the City took a significant step towards…
Click here to read the Civic Federation’s February 2014 updated list of selected consumer taxes in the City of Chicago. In December of 2009, the Civic…
As the Civic Federation composes its forthcoming Status of Local Pensions Report, we have pensions on our minds. Here’s a quick round up of what’s happening with local pension funds in Chicago and across the State of Illinois, including…
Chicago Public Television Garbage Collection 12/17/2009 Online edition This segment on the “Chicago Tonight” news program examines Chicago’s ward-based waste collection system. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall was interviewed for…
The redesign of the Civic Federation website in July has provided the public, government officials, and the media better access to the Federation’s analyses of government services in Illinois. The regularly-updated Civic Federation blog…
This brief provides an updated compilation of selected consumer taxes, including rates and descriptions, in effect in the City of Chicago on December 1, 2009. It includes such taxes as the sales tax, gas tax, amusement tax, lease tax…
The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2010 include public pension reform, requiring state government to develop and implement performance measurement and a capital improvement plan, the dissolving of the Illinois International…
In FY2010 the City of Chicago proposes to close a majority of its FY2010 $520 million budget deficit with proceeds it received from the long-term leases of its parking meters and the Chicago Skyway. This begs the question: how has the…
The Civic Federation opposes the FY2010 City of Chicago budget of $6.14 billion because it is unsustainable and relies too heavily on one-time reserve funds to close a $520.0 million budget deficit. The proposed drastic draw down of long-…
