Taxes and Fees

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Emanuel needs $754M more to make ends meet

This article examines the projected deficit of $426 million reported in the City of Chicago’s Annual Financial Analysis, which does not include additional…

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Chicago preliminary budget estimate shows huge shortfall

This article covers the $426 million budget deficit projected in the City of Chicago’s Annual Financial Analysis released July 31. The $426 million budget gap does not include nearly $550 million in additional contributions required by…

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Taxing the Cloud: Chicago Department of Finance Applies Existing Taxes to Streaming and Cloud Services

UPDATE: On September 9, 2015, a lawsuit challenging the streaming services was filed on behalf of seven plaintiffs against the City of Chicago. The plaintiffs argue that because they subscribe to various streaming services, such as Netflix…

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Cook County Increases Its Sales Tax by One Percentage Point

On July 15, 2015, the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted 9-7 to once again increase the county sales tax by one percentage point, taking effect on January 1, 2016. Once in place for one full year, Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s…

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Analyzing the Cook County Sales Tax Hike

This segment features Civic Federation President Laurence Msall and DePaul Assistant Professor Nick Kachiroubas discussing the July 15 Cook County sales tax increase. The…

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Cook County sales tax to increase by 1 percentage point

This article covers the July 15 vote by the Cook County Board of Commissioners to increase the sales tax by one percentage point beginning in 2016. The Civic Federation…

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Cook County Goes First as the Illinois Tax Hikes Begin

This editorial discusses the Cook County sales tax increase narrowly passed by the Cook County Board July 15 that would go into effect in 2016. The Civic Federation…

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Emanuel's City Colleges tuition changes will drive up costs for some

This article discusses a shift by City Colleges of Chicago to a flat-rate tuition structure that would take effect as of the fall 2015 semester. It cites the Civic Federation’s…

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Tuition increases coming for Chicago's City Colleges

This radio segment reviews the new flat-rate tuition structure being introduced by City Colleges of Chicago ahead of the fall 2015 school year. The Civic Federation said in its…

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Civic Federation Supports City Colleges' FY2016 Budget

Proposal Holds Property Tax Levy Flat and Introduces Flat-Rate Tuition Structure In an analysis released today, the Civic Federation supports the City Colleges of Chicago’s proposed FY2016 operating budget of $695.6 million because it…