The Civic Federation urges the General Assembly to establish clear standards of eligibility on property tax exemptions for charitable organizations. We are concerned that many organizations are uncertain about their property tax…
In this opinion piece, Phil Rosenthal discusses a recent lawsuit brought by the Regional Transit Authority and the City of Chicago against downstate municipalities in regard to the diversion of tax revenue. The Civic Federation says that…
Today the Civic Federation published an update to its primer The Cook County Property Tax Extension Process: A Primer on Levies…
The State of Illinois still owes income tax refunds to many businesses, but the backlog declined in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011 and is expected to dip further this year. According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, 4,569…
Illinois’ Personal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT) is a revenue source for local governments that was created by the General Assembly…
The Civic Federation announced its support for the Chicago Public Schools proposed FY2012 budget in a 82-page analysis released today at civicfed.org. Although supporting the CPS’s proposed $5.9 billion spending plan for the coming school…
The Civic Federation supports the Chicago Public Schools proposed $5.9 billion budget for FY2012, which is an increase of 1.5%, or $87.0 million, from the year-end estimates of FY2011. The proposed budget is a reasonable short-term plan to…
This article profiles many of the major reforms Chicago Public Schools may need to make in order to ensure long-term fiscal health. The Civic Federation says that because the District’s financial problems stem in part from delayed State of…
New rulings by the Illinois Department of Revenue have reignited a debate over whether the State’s non-profit hospitals provide adequate charity care to patients in exchange for their property-tax exemptions. On August 16, 2011 the…
