Legislative Agenda

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Cook County Modernization Report

The purpose of the Cook County Modernization Report is to provide leaders of the County with ideas for reshaping and refining County government that will improve service delivery to residents while reducing wasteful spending and decreasing…

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Cook County Taking Action to Improve Transparency

At a Cook County Board of Commissioners meeting, held on June 15, 2010, Cook County Commissioner Joseph Moreno called on County staff members to explain a series of errors in the meeting’s agenda, noting a lengthy list of deletions,…

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Separate so they can be Equal: The Case for Creating a Separate Board of Commissioners for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County

On February 2, 2010 Illinois will hold its primary election. The position of Cook County Board President and all Cook County Commissioner seats are on the ballot. Many issues pertaining to Cook County government have been debated during…

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Civic Federation 2010 Legislative Priorities

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…

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Update of Amended Illinois Open Meetings, Freedom of Information, and Attorney General Acts

On Monday, August 17, 2009, Governor Pat Quinn signed an amended version of Senate Bill 189 into law. Senate Bill 189 is now Public Act 096-0542 and will take effect January 1, 2010. The legislation amends various acts concerning…

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Status of Local Pension Funding Fiscal Year 2007: An Evaluation of Ten Local Government Employee Pension Funds in Cook County

This report provides a trend analysis of indicators that measure the financial health and performance of ten major local government pension funds from 1998 to 2007, the most recent year for which audited data are available. It finds that…

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Civic Federation 2009 Legislative Priorities

The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2009 include public pension reform, the dissolving of the Illinois International Port District, creating a new governing board for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, requiring all…

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Chicago Transit Authority FY2009 Proposed Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the CTA’s FY2009 budget of $1.3 billion as a responsible short-term plan to provide critical mass transit services to the Chicagoland population. The CTA’s proposed fare increases of 25 to 50 cents per ride,…

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A Call for the Dissolution and Restructuring of the Illinois International Port District

This report calls for the dissolution of the Illinois International Port District and the transfer of its operations to the City of Chicago. It finds that the District has shifted its primary focus from port operations to the management of…

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Forest Preserve District of Cook County: A Call for a Separate Board of Commissioners

This joint report by the Civic Federation and Friends of the Forest Preserves calls for the creation of an independent board of commissioners for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. The report finds that the current arrangement by…