With by far the largest number of local governments in the nation, the Civic Federation has long advocated for a sensible approach to consolidation and collaboration to reduce the number of local governments in Illinois and improve their effectiveness and efficiency. Consolidation of local...

After several iterations and much disagreement, the State of Illinois now has a new statewide school funding formula. The Illinois General Assembly approved the new formula as Senate Bill 1947, House Floor Amendment 5 on August 29, with the Illinois House passing the bill Monday, August 28 and...

In the wake of recently ordered bond court reforms , Cook County judges are seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging...

Last fall, the Civic Federation released an issue brief that examined Chicago Public Schools’ transparency and recommended a number of improvements, including live streaming Board of...

August 1, 2017

UPDATE: The City of Chicago released its Annual Financial Analysis for 2017 on July 31, 2017. The online content included with the report includes two years of projections of the...

On July 1, 2017, both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly voted to override the Governor’s veto of House Bill 1811 , which...

The Civic Federation’s Annual Civic Awards Luncheon, now in its 35th 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 the State of Illinois approaches two full years without enacting a comprehensive state budget, local governments have been forced to make difficult financial decisions to continue operating during these uncertain times.

City Colleges of Chicago has received only a quarter of its...

Click here to read this issue brief.

The Chicago Public Schools currently is controlled by the Mayor of Chicago, who appoints all members of the Board of Education. However, citizens,...

As part of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) program, the Civic Federation hosted Nurul Komalasari as a fellow for the month of May, which was made possible through a grant from the U.S. Department of State - Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The exchanges are...

May 7-13, 2017 is Public Service Recognition Week, an initiative of the Public Employees Roundtable (PER), its member organizations and the Partnership for Public...

The Illinois Department of Revenue announced in April 2017 that the final equalization factor for the Cook County 2016 property assessment year (taxes payable in 2017) is 2.8032.

The 2016...

The Civic Federation co-hosted a conference with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on April 19, 2017 entitled, “Chicago’s Fiscal Future: Growth or Insolvency?” Experts, practitioners and academics from around the country gathered to discuss the best and worst case scenarios for Chicago’s...

While Illinois lawmakers remain gridlocked over a State budget plan, another area shows promise of compromise in Springfield: government consolidation. With over 6,900 local government units, Illinois has more units of...

On Friday March 24, 2017 Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed Senate Bill 2437, legislation that was intended to increase city funding to help...