Local Government Budgets

Cook County's Budget: Long-Term Imbalance Leads to New Pain for Vulnerable Residents

Release: November 14, 2017

On October 11, 2017, the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to repeal a penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages. The FY2018 budget presented by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle had relied on the sweetened beverage tax to cover just over $200 million of the county's projected expenditures on services.

UPDATED: Illinois Property Taxes

Release: May 14, 2015

This Issue Brief is an update to a 2007 Brief, and provides an overview of who pays property taxes in Illinois, the steps in the property tax cycle, and what property tax revenue is used for. 

Cook County's Revenue System is Structurally Unable to Support the Public Services it Provides

Release: September 24, 2007

This Report analyzes the basic public services Cook County provides and the revenue sources that fund them. The Report also examines the Cook County fiscal system to determine whether it has the ability to fund and sustain the level of public services it currently provides.

The State of Illinois Shortchanges Cook County on Federal Medicaid Funds

Release: February 2, 2007

An explanation of how the state shortchanges Cook County of federal Medicaid payments.