November 17, 2009

091117_CookCountyAppealsPressRelease.pdf

091117_CookCountyAppealsPressRelease.pdf

(CHICAGO) A new report released today by the Civic Federation explains the assessment appeal process at the Cook County Assessor’s Office and the Board of Review and includes data on the number and type of real estate parcels filing appeals at those offices between 2000 and 2008. It also describes the available avenues to appeal property assessments at the Property Tax Appeal Board or in the court system.

November 17, 2009

Cook County Appeals Report

The purpose of this issue brief is to provide summary information on property tax appeals in Cook County, Illinois. It describes the assessment appeal process at the Cook County Assessor’s Office and the Cook County Board of Review and includes data on the number and type of real estate parcels filing appeals at those offices from 2000 to 2008. It also describes avenues to appeal property assessments at the Property Tax Appeal Board or in the court system.

Read the press release for this report here.

Cook County Appeals Report

November 13, 2009 - 11:21am

The Civic Federation has enormous concerns about the fiscal risks associated with Governor Quinn’s “deal” to avoid CTA fare increases.

November 12, 2009

2009 Abel E. Berland Award Press Release.pdf

2009 Abel E. Berland Award Press Release.pdf

The Civic Federation is pleased to announce that long-time Civic Federation Director Theodore M. Swain was awarded the 2009 Abel E. Berland Award for Exemplary and Outstanding Service to the Civic Federation of Chicago at the Federation’s 115th Annual Meeting on Thursday, November 12, 2009.

November 11, 2009 - 12:41pm

The State of Illinois’ inadequate funding of its employee retirement systems has already contributed to downgrades in the State’s credit ratings and will continue to affect rating decisions for many years, according to a new report by Moody’s Investors Service.

November 9, 2009 - 1:56pm

Under the old state statute that limited the property tax rates of the Chicago Public Schools, Tax Increment Financing directly restricted property tax revenues available to CPS because it froze part of the equalized assessed value (EAV)—the tax base—available for taxation.¹ This rate limit statute still exists, but it no longer impacts the school district’s tax levy due to the introduction of the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (P

November 9, 2009 - 1:50pm

Chicago Public Schools has received almost $400 million in Tax Increment Financing revenue from the creation of the first City of Chicago TIF in 1984 through July 2009 and is scheduled to receive over $491.3 million more according to intergovernmental agreements with the City of Chicago. CPS has used TIF funding to renovate or build elementary and high schools and is planning to use $14 million for ADA accessibility improvements to 15 schools.

November 6, 2009 - 2:50pm

The financial condition of U.S. municipalities continues to deteriorate, according to the recently-released 24th annual City Fiscal Condition Survey published by the National League of Cities (NLC).

November 4, 2009 - 5:18pm

Governor Pat Quinn plans to borrow an additional $900 million to keep the State of Illinois afloat, marking the third time since May of 2009 that the State has used short-term borrowing to offset revenue shortfalls.

November 4, 2009 - 12:53pm

While the Civic Federation traditionally analyzes features common to all local government budgets, our analyses of the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) budgets include additional productivity measurement data. The Civic Federation uses expenditure, personnel and ridership data provided by CTA to gain insight into changes in productivity.