Government Budgets

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The Cook County Property Tax System and Fundamental Principles of Taxation

This report describes basic principles of taxation and evaluates how these principles are manifested in the Cook County property tax system. The purpose of the report is descriptive, not prescriptive. It examines the operation of basic tax…

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State Budget Report Highlights Pension Problem

  A new report by the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability (IIFS)…

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Civic Federation Report Reviews State Budget Process, Provides Summary of Enacted FY2011 Spending Plan

(CHICAGO) The Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability released a plain-English summary of the State of Illinois’ FY2011 enacted budget today. The 26-page report is available on our website,…

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State of Illinois Enacted Budget FY2011: A Review of the Operating Budget Enacted for the Current Fiscal Year

This report examines the State of Illinois’ $53.5 billion operating budget for Fiscal Year 2011, which began on July 1, 2010 and ends on June 30, 2011. The report focuses on the $25.8 billion General Funds budget, the largest component of…

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Illinois budget battle starts with the numbers

This article compares the different statements made by think tank organizations about the extent of Illinois’ fiscal issues. The Civic Federation says that while State employees are not overpaid, they do receive very generous retirement…

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Is State-Assisted Wrigley Repair A Good Idea?

This news segment discusses the proposal by the owner of the Chicago Cubs to fix Wrigley Field using funds from a State of Illinois bond issuance. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall says it’s too early to tell if the plan will be a…

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Why are towns cutting police officers?

The layoff of police officers in suburban Chicago communities is the focus of this article. The Civic Federation says that the current economic climate and the State of Illinois’ fiscal issues have forced municipalities to make the hard…

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State warned on more borrowing to fund pensions

This article about the State of Illinois’ possible plans to borrow to make its required pension contribution cites a Civic Federation blog post “…

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Daley’s last budget poised to sail through City Council

In this article about the City of Chicago’s FY2011 budget, the Civic Federation says the City’s short-sighted budgeting has had a major effect on the City’s costs of borrowing.

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Illinois Plans $1.5 Billion Tobacco Bond to Plug $2 Billion Budget Gap

The Civic Federation’s Cost of the Crisis report is cited in this article about the State of Illinois’ plan to issue bonds backed by Illinois’ share of the 1998 tobacco settlement.