Dec. 20, 2010 at 8:33 a.m.
Filed under:
Taxes
From Crain’s Chicago Business | The Civic Federation, a Chicago-based non-partisan government research organization, in a report today recommended Cook County simplify its property tax system, which has become overburdened by exemptions and mulitple layers of administration.
“We’re not calling for a massive immediate overhaul of the property tax system,” Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, said in an interview. “We recommend that they do no further harm to the property tax system.” Get the full story>>
Nov. 12, 2010 at 3:11 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Retirement
By Kathy Bergen
If Illinois borrows to make its annual contribution to state retirement systems for a second year running, the back-loaded payment plan on those bonds will cause interest costs to skyrocket, a Civic Federation analysis found.
Interest costs would total an estimated $1 billion if the state issues about $3.7 billion in bonds to make its required contribution to the state’s five pension funds in fiscal 2011, which began July 1. The bonds would be paid off over eight years. Get the full story »
Aug. 30, 2010 at 12:01 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Taxes
By Kathy Bergen
Illinois residents will pay as much as $551.3 million extra for the state’s borrowing over the last year because of its deteriorating bond rating, according to an analysis by the Civic Federation to be released Monday.
“Due to Springfield’s failure to stabilize Illinois’ finances, Illinois residents will pay nearly 21 percent more for one year of borrowing than they would have if the state had maintained its credit ratings,” said Laurence Msall, president of the nonpartisan research organization.
Get the full story>>
