After a robust lobbying effort from suburban school and park districts, county leaders are moving to exempt thousands of employees from Cook County’s hastily passed ordinance that strengthened paid leave policies for all county workers, allowing employees to take time off for any reason, not just sickness. Decrying an unfunded mandate and scant notice about how to implement it, several .
The National Recreation and Park Association benchmark for local parklands is roughly 10 acres per 1,000 residents. Data shows some suburban park districts exceed that standard while others fall well short.
Only 23% of South Barrington Park District s annual revenues come from property taxes while in Oakbrook Terrace taxpayers cover nearly 90%. Why are some park districts more reliant on property taxes than others?
More than 200 parks groups throughout Illinois applied for a share of nearly $60 million in state grants largely funded by suburban real estate transfer taxes this year, but several suburban districts came up empty.