Legislative Agenda

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A Call for the Dissolution and Restructuring of the Illinois International Port District

This report calls for the dissolution of the Illinois International Port District and the transfer of its operations to the City of Chicago. It finds that the District has shifted its primary focus from port operations to the management of…

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Forest Preserve District of Cook County: A Call for a Separate Board of Commissioners

This joint report by the Civic Federation and Friends of the Forest Preserves calls for the creation of an independent board of commissioners for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. The report finds that the current arrangement by…

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Civic Federation 2008 Legislative Priorities

The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2008 include public pension reform, tax increment financing disclosure, creation of a separate board of commissioners for the Cook County Forest Preserve District, school financial…

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Status of Local Pension Funding Fiscal Year 2006: An Evaluation of Ten Local Government Pension Funds in Cook County

This report provides a trend analysis of indicators that measure the financial health and performance of ten major local government pension funds from 1997 to 2006. It finds a combined 18.3 billion dollars in unfunded liabilities for the…

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District FY2008 Tentative Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the MWRD's FY2008 Budget because it minimizes the burden on taxpayers and demonstrates sound financial planning techniques. The Civic Federation is concerned about the declining funded ratio of the MWRD…

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Chicago Transit Authority FY2008 Proposed Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports the CTA's proposed $1.0 billion FY2008 budget because it makes the necessary fare and service changes to create a blanced budget for the coming fiscal year. The Federation calls on the General Assembly and…

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Status of Local Pension Funding Fiscal Year 2005: An Evaluation of Ten Local Pension Funds in Cook County

This report provides a trend analysis of indicators that measure the financial health and performance of ten major local government pension funds from 1997 to 2005. It finds a combined 16.5 billion dollars in unfunded liabilities for the…

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Civic Federation 2007 Legislative Priorities

The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2007 include public pension reform, property tax exemptions and assessment reform, revision of the Regional Transportation Authority Act, tax increment financing disclosure, timely county…

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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District FY2007 Tentative Budget: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supported the MWRD's FY2007 Budget because it minimizes the burden on taxpayers and implements sound financial planning techniques. Notably, the MWRD has adopted a policy establishing an irrevocable trust for funding…

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State of Illinois Pension Systems: Analysis and Recommendations (Excerpted from The Civic Federation's State of Illinois FY2007 Recommended Operating Budget: Analysis and Recommendations)

The Civic Federation opposes the State of Illinois Recommended FY2007 operating budget because it takes a partial pension holiday of $1.1 billion at the same time as it increases spending for recurring programs by $1 billion.