The Civic Federation is a Chicago-based non-partisan research organization focused on governments in the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities ...

and the state of Illinois. The Civic Federation's mission is to help local and state governments reduce their costs and improve public services by "Promoting opportunities to reform local tax structures; guarding against wasteful expenditure of public funds; and serving as a technical resource to public officials and opinion leaders through non-partisan tax and fiscal research." The Federation was founded to fight corruption, government subsidies, high taxes, and unneeded public enterprise. However it also wanted government to solve the problems of the metropolis. The newspapers adopted Mugwumpery as a way of building support for municipal reform among working-class voters in the late 19th century and the Progressive Era.

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 The Chicago Park District is one of the oldest and the largest park districts in the United States. As of 2016, there are over 600 parks included in the Chicago Park District as well as 27 beaches, 10 boat docking harbors, two botanic conservat ...

Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the List of the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, fourth-large ...

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...

City Colleges of Chicago The City Colleges of Chicago is the public community college system of the Chicago area. Its colleges offer associate degrees, certificates, free courses for the GED, and free English as a second language (ESL) courses. The City Colleges sys ...

City of Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

:* Cook County Health and Hospitals System :*

DuPage County DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat ...

Forest Preserve District of Cook County The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is a governmental commission in Cook County, Illinois, that owns and manages land containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes. These land holdings are primarily managed as undeveloped nat ...

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), originally known as the Sanitary District of Chicago, is a special-purpose district chartered to operate in Cook County, Illinois, since 1889. Although its name may imply oth ...

State of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Of major interest to the Civic Federation is the impact that public employee pension systems have on

government budget A government budget is a projection of the government's revenues and expenditure for a particular period, often referred to as a financial or fiscal year, which may or may not correspond with the calendar year. Government revenues mostly incl ...

s and

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

. 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 A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...

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

:* The dissolution and restructuring of the Illinois International Port District :* An analysis of the financial aspects of the

Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous city in the United States after New York City and Los ...

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 Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

and

tax increment financing Tax increment financing (TIF) is a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects in many countries, including the United States. The original intent of a TIF program i ...

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.

Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability

In 2008 the Federation established the Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability (IIFS), which examines fiscal issues relating to the state of Illinois. Its mission is to "improve the state's decision making process by providing timely fiscal policy analysis and recommendations to state officials, the media, and the public through education and digital outreach." Major funding for IIFS is provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The Institute has published numerous studies of Illinois' finances, including: :* Analyses of the enacted State of Illinois FY2011 and FY2010 budgets; :* The Cost of the Crisis, an issue brief that estimated how much extra Illinois would spend in borrowing costs due to its deteriorating bond rating; :* A "Fiscal Rehabilitation" plan that described the basis of Illinois' fiscal crisis and presented the Federation's plan for restoring fiscal solvency to the state's finances; :* Analyses of the Illinois Governor's proposed FY2011, FY2010 and FY2009 operating and capital budgets; :* An issue brief on the Illinois Medicaid system. IIFS also publishes a blog that provides additional information and commentary on state finance issues.

History

The Civic Federation was founded in 1893 as a reform organization by several of Chicago's most prominent citizens, including

Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860May 21, 1935) was an American Settlement movement, settlement activist, Social reform, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, and author. She was a leader in the history of s ...

, Bertha Honore Palmer and

Lyman J. Gage Lyman Judson Gage (June 28, 1836 – January 26, 1927) was an American financier who served as the 42nd United States Secretary of the Treasury in the cabinets of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Biography Early life He was born ...

. The group united around the need to address concerns about Chicago's economic, political and moral climate at the end of the 19th century. The group's formation was catalyzed by a book by a visiting journalist, William T. Stead, who appealed to the

Social Gospel The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean en ...

sensibilities of Protestant activists. Gage, president of the First National Bank, and the prominent socialite Bertha Honore Palmer were elected President and First Vice President. The Director of

Hull House Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of Chicago, Hull House, named after the original house's first owner Charles Jerald Hul ...

, Jane Addams, served as a trustee. Chicago-area merchants, educators, bankers, ministers and labor officials joined them as charter members. In its early years, the Civic Federation advocated for social and political reform. It led efforts to improve sanitation and education, as well as improve Chicago-area government efficiency. Steel magnate

Clayton Mark Clayton Mark (June 30, 1858 – July 7, 1936), was an American industrialist in the Chicago area who founded the Mark Manufacturing Company in 1888, a firm for the fabrication and sale of water-well supplies and Clayton Mark and Company in 1900 ...

, who built Marktown, the planned worker community in Northwest Indiana, served several terms as President of the Civic Federation. In the 1930s, the Civic Federation transitioned to an organization chiefly interested in improving government efficiency and tax reform. The work of the Federation continues to evolve in the 21st century as a greater emphasis is placed on working with government officials to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and accountability of Chicago-area governments.

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

Special Collections and Archives holds the Civic Federation Collection, which contains reports, memoranda, correspondence, press releases, photographs, and other documents relating to the Civic Federation's foundation and operation from 1893, on.
Civic Federation Records
'' DePaul University Special Collections and Archives. Accessed 21 February 2017.

Funding

The Civic Federation is classified as a 501(c)(3) public charity under U.S. Internal Revenue Code. The Civic Federation focuses on educational outreach and policy work, consistent with its tax-exempt status. It accepts no government support. The Federation receives funding from its members, which include many Chicago area corporations and service firms. The Civic Federation and Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability are also supported by a number of foundations including: :*The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation :*The Chicago Community Trust :*The Commercial Club Foundation :*The Joyce Foundation :*Motorola Foundation :*Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust :*The Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust :*The McCormick Foundation :*The Polk Bros. Foundation :*The Field Foundation of Illinois :*Woods Fund of Chicago :*Crown Family Philanthropies :*Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

References

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External links