State Reports

Items listed under "State Reports" have been received by the Documents Unit, Illinois State Library, Springfield, and are usually available from public libraries in the state through interlibrary loan. Issuing agencies may have copies available. For items listed under "Other Reports," write to the publisher as noted.

State Documents

• Selecting a Consultant, Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, Division of Program Development and Support, 620 East Adams, Springfield 62701 (May 1991), 23pp.

This brochure is divided into five chapters: Consulting Defined (which contains sections entitled "Why Hire a Consultant?" and "Roles Served By Consultants"); Preparing the Firm to Work with a Consultant (including such topics as the client's role and the consultant's role); Finding and Selecting a Qualified Consultant; Preparing the Contract; and Concluding the Engagement (which discusses evaluating the consultant's work as well as what to do if things go wrong).

Other Reports

• Chicagoland — A Fiscal Perspective, 1980-1989, The Civic Federation, 203 N. Wabash, Suite 918, Chicago 60601 (June 1991), 75pp.

Two major categories are covered in this annual report, issued since 1934: local government revenue and expenditures, and local government long-term liability. Specific issues included in the first section are property tax revenue, other revenues and local government expenditures. The liability section includes long-term debt and public pension liability. In addition to a two-page executive summary at the beginning of the report, each major section is introduced by an overview and a glossary; helpful tables and charts are scattered throughout.

• Local Government Fiscal Practices in Illinois, by Ronald D. Picur, Taxpayers' Federation, 201 E. Adams, Suite 350, Springfield 62701 (June 1991), 196pp.

The focus of this study is the illegal as well as the illusory financial practices of local governmental units in Illinois. In addition to examining such practices, it describes the fiscal cycle and the property tax objection system. The report concludes with a recommendation that the General Assembly consider the adoption of a property tax accountability act and an act requiring local government fiscal accountability.

Anna J. Merritt

34/December 1991/Illinois Issues