The Civic Federation sent the following letter to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board in support of a plan by the Cook County Health and Hospitals System to discontinue acute-care hospital services at Oak Forest Hospital in favor of expanded outpatient care. As discussed previously on this blog, the Review Board rejected the plan by a vote of 3 to 2 on March 21, 2011. Under…
Cook County plans to reduce financial assistance to its Health and Hospitals System by nearly 33% this year, from $411.5 million in FY2010 to $276.3 million in FY2011. The County will face major challenges related to the Health System’s budget and Medicaid revenues. The Health System’s subsidy from the County consists mainly of tax revenues used to bridge the gap between the System’s operating…
The Cook County Modernization 100-Day Accountability Report is a follow up report to the Civic Federation’s October 2010 Cook County Modernization Report. The new publication assesses the progress the County has made toward implementing the recommendations contained in the October report during the first 100 days of Board President Preckwinkle’s administration. As previously discussed in this…
The Civic Federation’s Cook County Modernization 100-Day Accountability Report continues the work of our Cook County Modernization Project. This report includes detailed information on the status of all 36 recommendations from the Civic Federation’s Cook County Modernization Report (published in October 2010), as well as a dashboard rating system for recommendations that were to be implemented…
This 100-Day Accountability Report [link] gives a progress update on recommendations to reform Cook County that the Civic Federation made in its Cook County Modernization Report. The 100-Day Report provides an overview of key events in the transition to the new administration of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, summarizes key findings from the Modernization Report, provides an update…
Today marks the 100th day since Toni Preckwinkle took office as President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. During that time, the County has begun to implement a variety of reforms including many of the recommendations from the Civic Federation’s Cook County Modernization Report. The administration released a 100-day report card this morning, which highlights what the administration…
Today the Civic Federation released its analysis of Cook County’s FY2011 Executive Budget Recommendation. The Federation supports Cook County’s $3.0 billion proposed budget plan as it reflects a significant effort by the new County administration to usher in an era of significant reform of governmental operations. The Federation commends Board President Preckwinkle and her team for their…
The Civic Federation supports Cook County’s $3.0 billion FY2011 Executive Budget Recommendation as it reflects a significant effort to reduce expenditures. The new County administration also appears to be on a path toward significant reform of governmental operations, as recommended by the Civic Federation in the Cook County Modernization report, which can be read here. The Civic Federation…
This report analyzes basic financial data on ten major local government employee pension funds in Cook County. It is intended to provide lawmakers, pension trustees, pension fund members and taxpayers with the information they need to make informed decisions regarding public employee retirement benefits. The report reviews fiscal year 2009 actuarial valuation reports and financial statements of…
The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2011 include public pension reform, requiring state government to develop and implement a capital improvement plan, the dissolving of the Illinois International Port District, creating a new governing board for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, reinstating means-tested transit discounts for seniors, requiring large counties to hold budget…
