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The Civic Federation is a Chicago-based non-partisan research organization focused on governments in the Chicago area 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 Civic Federation, ("About Us" ). Retrieved 2011-04-4.〕 == 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〔The Civic Federation, ("Press Room" ). Retrieved 2011-04-4.〕 and have helped guide lawmakers’ decisions, as detailed on the (Federation’s website ).〔The Civic Federation, ("Civic Federation Achievements" ). Retrieved 2011-04-4.〕 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, ("Local Government Pensions" ). Retrieved 2011-04-4.〕 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 Civic Federation, ("Civic Federation Property Tax Primers" ). Retrieved 2011-04-4.〕 The Federation has also taken on special initiatives〔The Civic Federation, ("Special Projects" ). Retrieved 2011-04-4.〕 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,〔The Civic Federation, ("Blog" ). Retrieved 2011-04-4.〕 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”〔The Civic Federation, ("About Us" ). Retrieved 2011-04-4.〕 section of its website. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chicago Civic Federation」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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