In Cook County, township government often gets overlooked amidst the various local governments including municipalities, school districts, park districts, community college districts and others. In order to shed light on this largely unexamined unit of government, the Civic Federation has created a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) that provides information about the basics of…
The Civic Federation recently published a primer on the Cook County Property Assessment Process. It explains many features of the complex property tax system that ordinary taxpayers may have heard of but never understood, such as classification and equalization, and traces all the steps taken to arrive at a parcel’s final taxable value. The report reviews modifications to the classification…
This report describes how the taxable value of real estate is established in Cook County, Illinois. It explains the determination of assessed value and the calculation of taxable value, including data on triennial assessment districts, assessment methods, classification, assessed value, equalization, homestead exemptions, taxable value, and estimated full value of real estate. Read the press…
The Civic Federation supports the Illinois General Assembly’s first steps toward comprehensive public pension reform in Illinois and urges state leaders to implement further reforms. On Wednesday, March 24, 2010, the Illinois General Assembly took the first important steps toward comprehensive public pension reform in Illinois by approving Senate Bill 1946 as amended by the Illinois House. The…
Cook County has recently taken efforts to improve its transparency and accountability to the public through its Open County Initiative website. The County developed the initiative as a response to recommendations by the Sunshine Review, a non-profit organization that advocates for better state and local government transparency. The Sunshine Review evaluated the content of Cook County’s website…
The Civic Federation supports the Illinois General Assembly’s first steps toward comprehensive public pension reform in Illinois and urges state leaders to implement further reforms. On Wednesday, March 24, 2010, the Illinois General Assembly took the first important steps toward comprehensive public pension reform in Illinois by approving Senate Bill 1946 as amended by the Illinois House. The…
All ten Chicago-area local government pension funds analyzed annually by the Civic Federation had negative investment returns in fiscal year 2008 for a total investment loss of $7.1 billion.[1] The average FY2008 rate of return for the eight funds with a January 1 to December 31 fiscal year was -25.3%, down from +8.1% the previous year. Rates of return ranged from -14.8% to -33.3% in FY2008, with…
The total unfunded liabilities of the ten major Chicago-area public pension funds reached $18.5 billion in fiscal year 2008. That is an increase of over $15.1 billion dollars in ten years, up from $3.4 billion in fiscal year 1999. To put $18.5 billion in perspective, it is $5,821 of unfunded pension liabilities per Chicago resident. The debt grows to $10,037 per person when you add…
This report analyzes basic financial data on ten major local government employee pension funds in Cook County. It is intended to provide lawmakers, pension trustees, pension fund members and taxpayers with the information they need to make informed decisions regarding public employee retirement benefits. The report reviews fiscal year 2008 actuarial valuation reports and financial statements of…
This February Cook County launched a new online check register that gives the public access to how the County spends its money. The County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution to create the online check register in 2009. It is one component of the County’s new Open County Initiative website, which it developed in order to improve its governmental transparency and accountability to its…
