Work with the Civic Federation

About the Civic Federation

The Civic Federation is an independent, non-partisan government research organization that provides robust and objective fiscal analysis, recommendations, and oversight for the benefit of civic and business leaders, the media, and the general public in Chicago and the State of Illinois. Founded in 1894 to address deep concerns about the city's economic and political climate at the turn of the century, the Federation has been a civic leader in Chicago and Illinois for over 130 years. In the past ten years alone, the Federation’s track record includes publishing over 600 long and short-form reports and budget analyses of 11 state and local government entities and fiscal-adjacent policy issues.

The Civic Federation is an equal opportunity employer. We fundamentally support and remain committed to seeking a diverse, equitable and inclusive staff and board of directors to serve the mission of the federation. All membership and employment decisions are made with this commitment in mind and we welcome everyone to our team.

The Civic Federation encourages BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ people, veterans, and any individuals with disabilities or any other legally protected status to apply. Please feel free to note your pronouns and/or any reasonable accommodation requests in your application or during the interview process.

Partnership Opportunities

The Civic Federation has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to gather insight from qualified web development firms or individuals regarding the redesign and modernization of our website platform.

The purpose of this RFI is to better understand potential approaches, capabilities, timelines, and cost considerations associated with migrating our existing Drupal-based website to a modern content management system and developing new digital infrastructure to support the Civic Federation’s evolving work.

This RFI will help inform the Civic Federation’s planning process and will be used to request a full scope of work and proposal from appropriate partners.

Please see the full Request for Information here. Email [email protected] with your proposal and any questions.

Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis until April 24, 2026.

Job Openings

There are no active applications at this time. However, the Civic Federation is always looking to speak with civic-minded individuals, particularly research and policy analysts, data visualization specialists, and state and local government experts. Please send a resume to [email protected] if you would like to connect.