Government Budgets

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Sharpest State Revenue Decline in 46 Years

A new study from the Rockefeller Institute of Government in Albany, New York reports that total state tax collections for the first quarter of 2009…

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Chicago Transit Authority Unveils a Revised Capital Selection Process

In order to make its capital selection process more transparent in FY2009, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has revised the way in which is selects and prioritizes capital projects. CTA’s revised capital selection process includes…

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Governor Postpones Decision on Closing Howe Developmental Center

  As Governor Pat Quinn searches for unaffordable programs to cut from the state budget, the fate of the troubled Howe Developmental Center in Tinley Park deserves close attention. Howe, a state-run facility for the developmentally…

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Civic Federation Supports City Colleges’ FY2010 Budget

Today the Civic Federation released its analysis of the FY2010 City Colleges Tentative Annual Operating Budget,…

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Prudent City Colleges Budget Prepares for Economic Uncertainty, Holds Property Tax Levy Flat

The Civic Federation will announce its support for the proposed $492.1 million FY2010 City Colleges of Chicago budget at public hearing today. The Federation’s 39-page analysis found that the proposed budget compensates for uncertain State…

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City Colleges of Chicago FY2010 Tentative Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the $492.1 million City Colleges of Chicago FY2010 budget because it is a prudent spending plan that both holds the District’s property tax levy flat over the next two years and compensates for…

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Civic Federation to Review Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid

On June 30, 2009 the Chicago City Council passed a resolution asking the Civic Federation to conduct a review of the financial projections made by…

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New Borrowing Worsens Future Budget Strains

 Over the years, Illinois’ poorly funded retirement systems have put an enormous strain on the State’s budget. At times, the State has chosen to simply avoid the burden by making smaller contributions to the pension funds than…

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Chicago Turns to Workers to Close Deficit

This article describes the City of Chicago’s plans to close an operating budget deficit of about $300 million with worker furloughs and funds received as part of the privatization of the city’s assets. The Civic Federation is quoted…

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Taxpayers beware: Game is on this week

In this column, Steve Huntley explores the deadlock in Springfield over the State of Illinois budget. He cites the Civic Federation’s analysis of Governor Quinn’s proposed budget, which advocated state employee pension and health care…