(CHICAGO) – In a report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability proposes a comprehensive three-year plan that addresses Illinois’ ongoing financial crisis with painful but necessary spending limits and revenue enhancements. The full 55-page report is available here. More than seven months into the current fiscal year, the State of Illinois continues…
View the Article This article discusses the continued fiscal strain faced by the City of Harvey, a south Chicago suburb, and a potential need for state intervention. Laurence Msall, President of the Civic Federation, explains the essential changes that have to be made by the city in order to move forward and also discusses the role of the State in this matter. Mentioned in the article is the…
The Civic Federation has long supported legislation aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations in Illinois by consolidating or abolishing redundant and/or anachronistic local governments. For example, on November 17, 2003, the Federation called on the State to abolish the Suburban Cook County Tuberculosis Sanitarium District. The District was ultimately dissolved…
A new report by Governor Bruce Rauner’s administration projects that the State of Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills could grow to $25.0 billion in FY2019 from $4.4 billion in FY2015 based on current tax and spending policies. The three-year forecast, issued on January 6, 2016, covers FY2017 through FY2019. It also includes actual budget results for FY2015, which ended on June 30, 2015, and…
This article examines a ruling by the Illinois 4th District Appellate Court, finding that the 2012 law defining nonprofit hospitals’ property tax exemptions is unconstitutional. The particular ruling involves a case against the Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Illinois. Civic Federation President, Laurence Msall, discusses the potential implications of this ruling for hospitals statewide.
The following are the five most read posts presented by the Civic Federation blog in 2015. These posts examine a number of closely followed local government issues, ranging from City and County taxes to Chicago pension debt. Where Do Your Property Taxes Go? April 7, 2015 This blog post outlines how property taxes are distributed by describing how property tax dollars were proposed to be…
This article covers two studies recently released by the Civic Federation. One report tracks the estimated full value of real estate in Cook County, which grew to $460 billion in 2013 after six consecutive years of decline. The other examines effective tax rates for selected municipalities in northeastern Illinois in 2013. According to research from the Civic Federation, and as mentioned in the…
FY2016 Budget Season Summary December 3, 2015 marked the end of the budget season for the eight local governments monitored by the Civic Federation. These governments include: the City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, City of Chicago, Cook County, Chicago Transit Authority, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and Chicago…
Ten-Year Trends for Cook County Show Highest Tax Burden in Harvey, Lowest in Chicago The Civic Federation released its annual estimate of effective property tax rates in the six-county region of northeastern Illinois today. Among the 12 selected Cook County communities, Harvey had the highest effective tax rate for residential properties at 8.08% in tax year 2013, while Chicago had the lowest…
The full market value of real estate in Cook County was approximately $459.9 billion in tax assessment year 2013 according to an annual estimate released today by the Civic Federation. The 2013 total value estimate represents an increase of $45.5 billion or 11.0% from the 2012 estimated full value. Tax year 2013 is the most recent year for which data are available. The 2013 estimates represent…
