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…
The Cook County Board of Commissioners has reorganized its board meeting proceedings in an effort to streamline board meetings. Beginning in January 2017, the Consent Calendar portion of the meeting is now held on the second Tuesday of each month rather than the second Wednesday when County Board meetings are generally held. The change is intended to reduce excessively long meetings. The Consent…
On November 8, 2016, the Cook County electorate voted on the binding referendum to merge the Office of the Cook County Recorder of Deeds and the Office of the Cook County Clerk. The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted in June 2016 to present the referendum question to Cook County residents on the general election ballot. The merging of the offices will take place by December 7, 2020. Of the…
This article reports on a recent Civic Federation issue brief that includes a number of recommendations on ways the Chicago Public Schools can increase transparency. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall says that the Federation has always paid some attention to Chicago Public Schools’ transparency and notes that extra scrutiny is now needed because of the District’s troubled finances.
This brief, developed by a Civic Federation Task Force, features a number of recommendations on ways the Chicago Public Schools can increase government transparency and accountability, including transparency in meetings, website transparency and budget presentation and format transparency. The Civic Federation believes that transparency is essential to good government. Government transparency…
This segment examines a binding Cook County referendum on the November ballot that would merge the offices of County’s Clerk and Recorder of Deeds. During the segment Civic Federation President Laurence Msall discusses with host Phil Ponce the efficiencies and cost savings that a merger would create and notes that it would help spur modernization of Cook County government.
This article discusses the cost to Cook County taxpayers of separate staffs for each of the 17 Cook County Commissioners. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall remarks that the situation lends itself to further examination and notes that Los Angeles County, similar in geographical size and population to Cook County, has only five elected commissioners.
The City of Evanston recently released a white paper on the initial results following the dissolution of its coterminous township. Based on the results of a fiscal analysis of the dissolution of Evanston Township, taxpayers have saved $779,668 in fiscal year 2015, the first full year following dissolution, far exceeding the initial estimated savings of $500,000.[1] The Civic Federation has long…
On June 29, 2016 the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a resolution to present a public question via a binding countywide referendum asking if the Office of the Cook County Recorder of Deeds should be eliminated and all duties and responsibilities be transferred to the Office of the Cook County Clerk. Cook County Commissioner John A. Fritchey introduced the resolution to…
