This article profiles the fiscal troubles facing Illinois Governor Pat Quinn as he tries to balance the State’s budget. It cites the Civic Federation’s finding that per-capita state debt has tripled since 2001 and may nearly double if the State approves new borrowing.
Although it includes deep cuts to some agencies and programs, the FY2012 budget proposed by Governor Pat Quinn includes increases in other areas that would more than offset the reductions. In all, the proposed budget for FY2012 would increase General Funds appropriations for agency operations by more than $1.0 billion. General Funds appropriations make up the majority of the State’s…
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…
In this blog post, Greg Hinz discusses the conclusions of the Civic Federation's "Cook County Modernization 100-Day Accountability Report." The Federation found that administration of County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has made considerable progress in modernizing operations, but still faces significant challenges over the next few years.
This article details reactions to Mayor-Elect Rahm Emanuel's suggestion that the City of Chicago consider reducing the number of aldermen in the City Council from 50 to 25. The Civic Federation is quoted saying that most other major U.S. cities function with far fewer council members and notes that with the City facing difficult fiscal challenges, aldermen as well as citizens and city employees…
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…
Concerns Remain about Independence of the Health System, Future Budgets (CHICAGO) A new Civic Federation report released today finds that Cook County has made considerable progress toward modernizing its operations, but still faces significant challenges over the next few years. The Cook County Modernization 100-Day Accountability Report is in follow up to the Federation’s October 2010 Cook…
After three years of increasing budget deficits, the State of Illinois is expected to see a smaller budget gap at the end of FY2011 because of tax increases and expanded borrowing for operations. The FY2011 year-end deficit is currently projected to total $4.4 billion, according to Civic Federation calculations based on information in Governor Pat Quinn’s FY2012 recommended budget. That compares…
In this article about Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle's moves to reform County government, the Civic Federation says that the County is moving in a positive direction and is more transparent in its operations.
