Independent Revenue Forecasting Commission

The Independent Revenue Forecasting Commission was created by ordinance to review and analyze the five-year consensus revenue forecast developed by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and provided quarterly to the Board of Commissioners. 

The revenue forecast will include but will not be limited to: sales and use taxes, property taxes, cigarette taxes, fuel taxes and other sources of county revenue. The Commission will also be responsible for evaluating and forecasting any new revenue sources proposed by the Board or President.

The CFO serves as Chairman of the Commission. Three additional Commission members are appointed by the Board President and confirmed by the Board. Two of the appointed must serve as academic economists with expertise in local economic conditions and be housed at a university located in Cook County. The third appointed member is a designated member of the public with expertise in public finance. All Commission members serve on a voluntary basis for a term of three years. Commission members may also be reappointed for consecutive terms.  

The forecast and assumptions from the CFO, the recommendations from the Commission and any non-proprietary external resources utilized will be made publicly available on this website.  Members of the public are encouraged to attend  the Commission’s meetings.

Historic Meeting Information

Historical information including Independent Revenue Forecast Commission agendas, minutes, quarterly reports, annual recommendations and videos are available by visiting the legistar archives. You can search by year by using the date tab on the archive page to view this meeting information. Additionally, presentation materials from past meetings are available in the download section of this page on the right.

Commission Member Biographies

Biographical information on each appointed and confirmed member of the Independent Revenue Forecasting Commission is available on the member bio page under the Related Services section.

Revenue Forecasting Materials

Presentation materials from each IRFC meeting are posted below in chronological order. Additionally, materials information like tax type data, revenue estimates, models and methodologies can be found in the download section on the right side of this page.