August 1, 2017 UPDATE: The City of Chicago released its Annual Financial Analysis for 2017 on July 31, 2017. The online content included with the report includes two years of projections of the City’s actuarially calculated contributions under the new funding schedule for the Municipal and Laborers’ Funds after the end of the five-year ramp. Note that the years in the chart are levy years…
On July 1, 2017, both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly voted to override the Governor’s veto of House Bill 1811, which included a measure authorizing the City of Chicago to increase its emergency communications surcharge to $5.00 per month for phone service contracts. The current surcharge is $3.90 per month per phone service contract. If the City Council approves the emergency…
The Civic Federation’s Annual Civic Awards Luncheon, now in its 35th year, recognizes civic leadership in Chicago. Named for the Federation’s founding members, the Lyman J. Gage Award and the Addams-Palmer Award recognize the outstanding civic contributions of Chicago individuals and institutions. The 2017 Civic Awards Luncheon honored Ilene S. Gordon, Chairman, President and Chief Executive…
Links to each presentation can be found within the forum's agenda below: --- 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. — Registration and Continental Breakfast Badge Pickup and Security Inspection in the Lobby 8:00 a.m. — Welcome Kent Swanson, Civic Federation Chairman, Executive Vice President, Riverside Investment and Development 8:05 a.m. — Balance Sheet…
While Illinois lawmakers remain gridlocked over a State budget plan, another area shows promise of compromise in Springfield: government consolidation. With over 6,900 local government units, Illinois has more units of government than any other state. The multiplicity of local units of government, many of which are funded predominantly by property taxes, is often cited as a reason for high…
On Friday March 24, 2017 Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed Senate Bill 2437, legislation that was intended to increase city funding to help prevent the City of Chicago’s Municipal and Laborers’ pension funds from going insolvent within the next decade. The legislation had passed with large bipartisan majorities in the Illinois House and Senate. This was the City’s second attempt to improve…
The Cook County Circuit Court recently ruled that the City of Chicago cannot tax other tobacco products according to Illinois state law. The City’s home rule tax on these products was expected to bring in $6.0 million in revenue. Other tobacco products (OTP) include the following non-cigarette tobacco products: Cigars; Pipe Tobacco; Smokeless Tobacco; and Smoking Tobacco. The Chicago…
Click here to read this issue brief. This annual brief provides a compilation of selected consumer taxes, including rates and descriptions, in place in the City of Chicago as of July 1, 2017. The taxes in this report are grouped under the following categories: sales taxes, tobacco-related taxes, beverage-related taxes, utility-related taxes, accommodations-related taxes,…
Annually the Civic Federation releases a report on consumer taxes in the City of Chicago. Consumer taxes are charges for the consumption of goods or services and can be charged directly to consumers through retail transactions or passed onto consumers by businesses. This blog highlights the new consumer taxes that have been approved in the past year which go into effect in 2017, as well as…
Click here to read the full report. This annual report compares estimated effective property tax rates in the six-county region of northeastern Illinois between 2005 and 2014, the last year for which data are available. Among the 12 selected Cook County communities, the Civic Federation found Harvey had the highest 2014 effective tax rate for residential properties at 7.71% in tax year…
