The newly appointed Chicago Public Schools Board of Education has made several changes to...

In July members of the Governmental Research Association (GRA) gathered in St. Petersburg, Florida for the 116th annual GRA conference.

The GRA is the national organization of individuals professionally engaged in governmental...

A Commission created to analyze an annual five-year forecast of Cook County revenues held its first meeting in early July. The Cook County Board of...

The Civic Federation’s Annual Civic Awards Luncheon, now in its 37th year, recognizes civic leadership in Chicago. Named for the Federation’s founding members, the Lyman J. Gage Award and the Addams-Palmer Award recognize the outstanding civic contributions of Chicago individuals and...

As part of the $45 billion capital bill passed by the Illinois General Assembly in early June 2019, and pending the Governor’s signature, the State’s tax on cigarettes and e-cigarettes will increase starting on July 1....

The Cook County Chief Judge’s Office recently released a report and accompanying data assessing the effectiveness of a 2017 reform of...

The Illinois Department of Revenue recently announced that the final equalization factor for the Cook County 2018 property assessment year (taxes payable in 2019) is...

During Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s first City Council meeting on May 29, 2019, new City Council Rules and Procedures were adopted by the Council. Also introduced was an...

The following blog post discusses how the City of Chicago has used surplus revenue in its tax increment financing (TIF) districts since 2013.

TIF is a powerful...

After several years of study and discussions, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) approved an intergovernmental agreement with Cook County for the MWRD to share services of the Cook County Office of the Independent Inspector General. The intergovernmental...

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Civic Federation co-hosted a sold-out conference earlier this month on the timely topic of infrastructure spending in Illinois. Speakers from around the country discussed best practices in infrastructure planning and possible funding sources as...

The following blog post examines the possibility of the City of Chicago instituting a city income tax. The idea was discussed by several mayoral and aldermanic candidates in the recent Chicago 2019 municipal election.

This blog post is intended for informational purposes only. The Civic...

Last week, the Civic Federation wrote about the Chicago City Council’s recent approval of a resolution to begin livestreaming committee meetings in...

On March 13, 2019 the Chicago City Council voted to approve Substitute Resolution 2018-1151 . The Resolution amends Rules 49 and 55...

In a series of...