Cook County

.

Civic Federation Releases Managed Competition Issue Brief

Managed competition is a form of alternative service delivery or public-private partnership (P3) that requires in-house service units of a government to compete with external providers under a controlled or managed process. It involves comparing the costs and benefits of contracting out public services versus the costs and benefits of those same services being provided by public employees. This…

.

Managed Competition: An Issue Brief

Managed competition is a form of alternative service delivery that requires in-house service units of a government to compete with external providers under a controlled or managed process. The purpose of this issue brief is to describe managed competition, provide a short history of its use and results, identify managed competition best practices and review the forms of managed competition being…

.

Direct Debt Per Capita for Six Illinois Municipalities

Last week the Civic Federation blog featured an analysis of long-term obligations for six selected municipalities in Illinois and their overlapping governments using a per capita indicator based on unfunded pension liabilities. This week’s blog uses the same per capita indicator to examine bonded debt for the same six municipalities and their overlapping governments. The overlapping pensions per…

.

Unfunded Pension Liabilities Per Capita for Six Illinois Municipalities

The blogs for this week and next week will examine the long-term obligations of six selected municipalities in Illinois and their overlapping local governments using per capita indicators based on unfunded pension liabilities and bonded debt. The overlapping pensions per capita and the debt per capita figures are indicators that the Civic Federation has long calculated for Chicago residents.…

.

Cook County Health System FY2014 Budget Tied to CountyCare

UPDATE: On August 23, 2013, the preliminary FY2014 budget of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System was unanimously approved by the Health System's Board of Directors. The Cook County Board is expected to vote on the plan in October. The Health System's preliminary budget will then be included in the County Board President's overall budget proposal for FY2014. Original blog published on…

.

Cook County Estimates for Special Revenue Funds: $200.2 Million in FY2014 Resources

On June 27, 2013, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle released a report on preliminary budget estimates for fiscal year 2014, which begins on December 1, 2013 and ends November 30, 2014. The report provides an overview of mid-year FY2013 revenues and expenditures, expected year-end estimates for FY2013 and projected revenues and expenditures for FY2014. The Civic Federation previously…

.

Impact of “Raise the Age” Legislation on Cook County’s Juvenile Temporary Detention Center

As explained in a previous Civic Federation blog, in Cook County’s FY2014 Preliminary Budget Estimates report, released on June 27, 2013, the County projects an initial budget deficit of $152.1 million for FY2014. The deficit primarily reflects increased personnel and employee health benefit costs, increased supply and vendor costs in the Cook County Health and Hospitals System, and reduced…

.

Governor Signs Bill to Expand Medicaid in Illinois

On July 22, 2013, Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation to allow Illinois to expand its Medicaid program under the federal Affordable Care Act beginning in January 2014. Illinois is among 23 states that are expected to join the Medicaid expansion, according to a recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The District of Columbia is also participating. As of July 2013, six states were still…

.

Second Installment Tax Year 2012 Cook County Property Tax Bills Sent Out This Week

Second installment property tax bills for Cook County residents were mailed out this week, the second year in a row that they have been sent out on time. Between at least tax year 1977 and tax year 2011, second installment bills were sent out late every year according to the elected officials associated with the Cook County property tax process. Cook County Clerk David Orr’s office released the…

.

Cook County Releases Preliminary Budget Estimates for FY2014

On June 27, 2013, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle released a report on preliminary budget estimates for fiscal year 2014, which begins on December 1, 2013 and ends November 30, 2014. The report provides an overview of mid-year FY2013 revenues and expenditures, expected current year-end estimates for FY2013 and projected revenues and expenditures for the upcoming FY2014. The…