Chicago Civic Federation - Research Focus

Research Focus

The Civic Federation publishes reports and commentary about government tax policies, government services and public expenditures in the Chicago region. Its annual analyses of local government operating budgets evaluate the governments’ fiscal policy decisions and provide recommendations for effective financial management. These reports are often cited by the press and have helped guide lawmakers’ decisions, as detailed on the Federation’s website. The Federation focuses on the following governments:

  • Chicago Park District
  • Chicago Public Schools
  • Chicago Transit Authority
  • City Colleges of Chicago
  • City of Chicago
  • Cook County
  • Cook County Health and Hospitals System
  • DuPage County
  • Forest Preserve District of Cook County
  • Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
  • State of Illinois

Of major interest to the Civic Federation is the impact that public employee pension systems have on government budgets and finance. In standalone pension status reports and government budget analyses, the Civic Federation provides a look at pension funding trends, estimates the accumulated liabilities of the systems and suggests reforms that could improve the fiscal health of the systems. The issue of property tax assessments, collections and appeals is another major focus of the Civic Federation. The Federation has published a number of issue briefs on property tax issues in the Chicago area.

The Federation has also taken on special initiatives in addition to its regular government finance research. Some of those projects include:

  • A call for the creation of a separate board for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County
  • The dissolution and restructuring of the Illinois International Port District
  • An analysis of the financial aspects of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid

The Civic Federation also discusses government finance and policy issues on its blog, updated weekly. The Federation blog has researched topics such as Cook County township government, privatization and tax increment financing or TIF. Federation blog posts accompany its publications and help provide additional commentary and context on those topics as well as provide reactions to current events.

A list of the accomplishments the Civic Federation has achieved through its research and advocacy for government reform is available on the “About Us” section of its website.

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