Government Efficiency and Transparency

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DuPage County FY2010 Proposed Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the $521.2 million FY2010 DuPage County budget proposal because it maintains funding for core programs while providing property tax relief. The County has additionally improved its budget planning process and…

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UPDATE: Cook County Veto Override Legislation

The Illinois House of Representatives voted on October 14, 2009 to reduce the number of votes required to override a veto by the Cook County Board President from an extraordinary four-fifths—or 14 of 17 commissioners—to three-fifths or 11…

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CTA Enhances Transparency of its Procurement Activities with an Online Database

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) recently implemented a vendor database that allows members of the public to search for vendor and contract information on the CTA website. The database…

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Chicago Loses Bid to Host 2016 Olympics Despite $48M Push

This article discusses the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid’s loss in the first round of voting by the International Olympic Committee. It mentions the Civic Federation’s analysis of the Bid, which found that taxpayers were adequately protected…

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Stop Hinsdale’s land grab

This editorial opposes the village of Hinsdale’s proposed plans to lease a parcel of Cook County Forest Preserve District land on which it would build soccer fields and other park facilities. It includes a Civic Federation quote saying…

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DuPage budget forums hardly a hot ticket

This article about DuPage County’s newly-implemented public budget forums quotes the Civic Federation saying that such forums are important as they help keep people informed about budgetary issues in a convenient and accessible format.

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Of the People, For the People, By the People

On Monday September 28, 2009 the Civic Federation attended the second of three public hearings held by DuPage County regarding its recently-released FY2010 financial plan. This was the first year that the County has held formal, separate…

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Preserving the Forest Preserve

The Civic Federation sent a letter today to the Board of Forest Preserve Commissioners, which is also the Cook County Board of Commissioners, urging them to reject a request by the Village of Hinsdale for 30 acres of Forest Preserve…

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Financial risks loom as Chicago awaits Olympic fate

This article about the financials risks of bringing the Olympics to Chicago cites the Civic Federation’s review of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid.

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City says it’s covered for games

This article about the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid’s use of insurance to protect against using taxpayer dollars mentions the Civic Federation’s review of the Bid, which noted that event insurance will not cover problems such as unsold tickets…