Cook County

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Local Government Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Analysis Summary

This week marks the end of the Civic Federation's fiscal year 2012 local government budget analysis season. The nine local governments monitored by the Civic Federation include: City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, DuPage…

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Cook County and City of Chicago Election Functions Should Be Merged

In its Recommendations for a Financially Sustainable City of Chicago, the Civic Federation recommended that the City’s election function be transferred to Cook County.…

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Civic Federation 2012 Legislative Priorities

The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2012 include public pension reform, requiring the State of Illinois to develop and implement a capital improvement plan, dissolving the Illinois International Port District, creating a new…

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Cook County FY2012 Executive Budget Recommendation: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the Cook County FY2012 Executive Budget Recommendation totaling $2.9 billion. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s proposed $2.2 billion General Fund budget is a 4.6%, or $107.4 million, decrease…

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Health of Cook County Pension Fund Still in Decline

The Cook County pension fund actuarial value funded ratio has fallen from 88.9% to 60.7% over ten years. The unfunded accrued actuarial liabilities have reached $5.2 billion or $993 per Cook County resident. While the County’s pension fund…

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Cook County FY2012 Budget Process

Cook County’s fiscal year begins on December 1 and ends on November 30. The Civic Federation believes that all governments should adopt a budget at least one month in advance of the start of the fiscal year. For the County, that would be a…

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2010 Cook County Property Tax Rates Are Out

Cook County Clerk David Orr’s office today released the 2010 Cook County Tax Rates Report. The report lists property tax rates for…

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Updated Report Explains Effect of TIF on Cook County Local Governments

Today the Civic Federation published an update to its primer The Cook County Property Tax Extension Process: A Primer on Levies…

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State Challenges Hospitals on Charity Care

New rulings by the Illinois Department of Revenue have reignited a debate over whether the State’s non-profit hospitals provide adequate charity care to patients in exchange for their property-tax exemptions. On August 16, 2011 the…

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Estimated Full Value of Real Property in Cook County: 2000-2009

This report provides estimates of the total market value of real property in Cook County from 2000-2009 and shows how property value is spread among the City of Chicago, the northern and the southern suburbs. The full market value of real…