The City of Chicago released its 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) earlier this summer. This blog will examine the City’s Corporate Fund (i.e. General Fund) fund balance as a percent of general operating expenditures based on audited data from the City’s most recent CAFR. This...

The Chicago City Council on July 25, 2018 approved a 2.0% surcharge on shared housing and vacation rentals in the City of Chicago. The 2.0% surcharge is in addition to an existing 4.0% surcharge on vacation rentals or shared housing units, bringing the total taxes specific to home sharing to 6.0...

Cook County Clerk David Orr’s office released the 2017 Cook County Tax Rates report on June 20, 2018 and shortly after, Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas mailed the second...

Beginning in August 2018, establishments with liquor licenses in unincorporated areas of Cook County will be able to offer video gaming on automated gambling machines based on an ordinance amendment passed by the Cook County Board of Commissioners earlier this month. Video gaming refers to...

The Civic Federation’s Annual Civic Awards Luncheon, now in its 36th 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...

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner presented his FY2019 State budget...

The Illinois Department of Revenue announced last week that the final equalization factor for the Cook County 2017 property assessment year (taxes payable in 2018) is 2.9627.

The 2017...

Following major policy changes and calls for increased public disclosure, detailed quarterly information about Cook County bond court orders and outcomes is now available online.

Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ Office began posting the new data on the...

The Civic Federation co-hosted a conference with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on April 17, 2018 entitled, “Navigating Pension Reform: What Lies Ahead?” Experts, practitioners and...

Short-term or current liabilities are financial obligations that must be satisfied within one year. They can include short-term debt, accounts payable, accrued payroll and other current liabilities.

This blog post presents five-year trends for: 1) total short-term liabilities in the...

On April 5, 2018 the City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees unanimously approved Board Resolution 33420 , which changes the tuition rate from a tier-based rate structure to a hybrid tuition rate structure....

*Note: This blog post was updated on April 13, 2018 with more recent information on the Chicago Public Schools’ short-term borrowing and cash flow position.

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is heading into the next annual budget cycle for the 2019 fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2018. In...

In a previous blog post , the Civic Federation explored the Illinois State Actuary’s findings in its first...

As part of the American Council of Young Political Leaders ( ACYPL ) program, the Civic Federation hosted Young South East Asian...

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner presented his annual budget address on February 14, 2018, outlining his...