The Civic Federation supports the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s FY2014 proposed $178.8 million budget that holds the property tax levy flat and maintains substantial reserve funds. However, the Federation warns that these achievements are threatened by the declining health of the District’s pension fund. The District’s reasonable budget plan is only possible because State law…
In a report released today, the Civic Federation supports the $178.8 million FY2014 budget proposed by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. The budget holds the property tax levy flat and maintains substantial reserve funds. However, the Federation warns that these achievements are threatened by the declining health of the District’s pension fund. The full 57-page report is available at…
(The full content of this article is only available to the publication’s subscribers.) This article covers the release of the Civic Federation’s FY2014 Cook County Budget Analysis. The Civic Federation supports the proposed budget for holding the property tax levy flat and continuing to reduce the County’s deficit, but warns that rapidly declining pension funds could threaten that progress.
This article covers Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s October 10 address presenting her FY2014 recommended budget to the Cook County Board. The Civic Federation was supportive of initial details of the budget announcement including holding property taxes relatively flat. The Federation’s full Cook County FY2014 budget analysis was released on October 28.
This article looks at the nationwide increase of local governments and special taxing districts, focusing on Illinois’ 7,000 units of government. The Civic Federation urges greater oversight and consolidation of Illinois’ local governments. A 2006 Civic Federation report found that many Illinois townships and special taxing districts were continuing to levy property taxes despite having large…
The Civic Federation supports Cook County’s proposed FY2014 operating budget of $3.2 billion for holding the property tax levy relatively flat, reducing expenditures and aggressively pursuing new revenue for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System under the federal Affordable Care Act. The administration continues to stabilize the County budget without increasing the property tax burden on…
In a report released today, the Civic Federation supports Cook County’s proposed FY2014 operating budget of $3.2 billion, which holds the property tax levy relatively flat by reducing expenditures and aggressively pursuing new revenue for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System under the federal Affordable Care Act. “This budget shows admirable restraint and forward thinking from Board…
This article covers new fines and fees proposed during Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s October 23 City Budget Address, which emphasized the need to confront the City’s severely underfunded pension funds. The Civic Federation said the City’s Fire Fund could be insolvent within 10 years, so the City cannot afford to further delay much-needed pension reforms.
This article covers Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s October 23 City Budget Address, which was punctuated by the urgent need for the State to act on pension reform. The Civic Federation said the City of Chicago’s current pension crisis is the result of decades of politically attractive decisions that ignored long-term consequences.
According to the latest legislative report on gaming in Illinois, total casino revenues have recovered since the opening of the State’s tenth riverboat casino in 2012 after several years of decline. However, State tax revenues from casino gaming remain stagnant despite the improvement. The annual report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) on wagering revenues…
