Civic Federation Blog Archive: July 2010

07.28.10

MWRD Discusses New Office Space Options, But May Dock Plans Due to Grim Budget Projections

On June 17, 2010 the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District held a study session to discuss office space options for the District’s administrative staff. Steve Weiss, owner of Weiss Architects LLC, presented a report on main office strategies that was commissioned by the District. ...

07.21.10

Cloudy Mid-Year Financials for MWRD May Mean Choppy Waters Ahead

Last week the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners held a public study session meeting to discuss its upcoming FY2011 budget and projections for what the financial year may hold. The picture staff painted was grim, with increasing expenses for the District while revenue...

07.14.10

Cook County Commissioners Approve Strategic Plan for County Health System

On July 14, 2010, Cook County Commissioners approved by a vote of 9 to 3 a strategic plan to reorient the County’s health system more toward outpatient care and away from inpatient hospital services. The five-year plan calls for closing the emergency room and inpatient facilities at Oak...

07.07.10

The Tentative 2009 Cook County Equalization Factor is 3.1062. What Does That Mean?

The Illinois Department of Revenue has announced that the tentative equalization factor for the Cook County 2009 property assessment year (taxes payable in late 2010) is 3.1062. The final equalization factor cannot be calculated until the Cook County Board of Review has finished hearing...

07.01.10

Cook County Sales Tax Falls by 0.5% Today

The sales tax rate on general merchandise in Cook County declines by 0.5 percentage point on July 1, 2010. This rolls back half of the 1.0 percentage point increase imposed by the Cook County Board of Commissioners effective July 1, 2008. For two years Chicago has had the highest sales tax of...