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  Unemployment, Labor Force Participation and the Illinois Work Force

  Norman Walzer and Brian Harger

  The relatively slow economic recovery in Illinois following the 2009 recession has been a frequent topic of debate among policymakers, business leaders, and the news media, with each group judging the state’s performance using a different measure. Business starts and employment, or unemployment, rates are commonly cited, but others argue that changing labor force participation rates may have caused unemployment rates to lose some of their traditional meaning.

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  Shared Services as a Response to Government Fragmentation

  Norman Walzer and Cory Poris Plasch

  Substantial support exists for the notion that institutional fragmentation and duplication is adding to the cost of government in Illinois. Several other states are actively encouraging local government to adopt innovative practices to cut costs through shared-service arrangements. This article reviews deliberations of the Governmental Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates Task Force chaired by Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti in 2015 and discusses eff orts underway by local government groups to streamline service delivery. The results include practical examples of how Illinois organizations can work together to boost efficiency and reduce overlap.

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  Emergence and Growth of Community Supported Enterprises

  Norman Walzer and Jessica Sandoval

  Local development agencies organize groups of residents to invest in business ventures commonly known as Community Supported Enterprises or Businesses. These ventures are often motivated by the potential loss of a grocery store, restaurant, or other establishment considered vital to quality of life in the community. Motivated by a need to maintain or build social capital, a group of residents pool their investments to purchase a building or on-going establishment and then hire an operator to manage the business with returns paid to the organizing agency. These agencies may be a nonprofit, LLC, Cooperative or other type of organization. Emergence and Support of Community Supported Enterprises is a North Central Regional Center for Rural Development funded project that examines how CSEs are organized and operate in several states. It involves a collaborative effort between the Center for Governmental Studies, University of Wisconsin Extensive, and Michigan State Extension.

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  A Revitalization Plan for DeKalb, IL

  Mim Evans and Brian Richard

  The City of DeKalb advanced to the semi-finals of the America’s Best Communities Competition. This report was the key piece in the City’s competitive entry. The report presents a number of projects designed to work together to create a sustainable basis for economic growth. A number of the proposed projects are in various stages of planning and development

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  Delivering Efficient, Effective, and Streamlined Government to Illinois Taxpayers

  Norman Walzer and Task Force on Government Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates

  Options to streamline the system for delivering local government services in Illinois were significantly increased with passage of recommendations by the Task Force on Government Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates report issued in 2016. While no mandates were included, subsequent legislation enables residents and local public officials to redesign collaboration among local government units and agencies to deliver services in different ways, possibly at lower costs and property taxes. The report contains responses by 500 local public officials, plus the testimony and deliberations of the Task Force leading to subsequent legislation.

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  Illinois Critical Access Hospitals: Managing Healthy Communities in Rural Illinois

  Melissa Henriksen and Norman Walzer

  The Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network (ICAHN), working with the Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) at Northern Illinois University recently released, “Illinois Critical Access Hospitals: Managing Healthy Communities in Rural Illinois,” the third in a series of white papers focused on rural health care issues. The ICAHN and CGS worked with hospital administrators across rural Illinois to examine PHM challenges, alternative revenue models, and promising practices that can help small hospitals respond to the new health care environment. The report identifies population health management approaches currently underway in Illinois critical access hospitals (CAHs) and other health care organizations. It also examines factors affecting hospital outreach activities to help them have the most impact on their clients and communities. Many rural hospitals and health care organizations are using new approaches to make local populations healthier. Some of these innovative approaches are summarized in the report to guide similar activities in other hospitals.

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  Illinois Critical Access Hospitals: Collaborating for Effective Rural Health Care

  Melissa Henriksen, Norman Walzer, and Andy Blanke

  As health care budgets tighten and professional resources become more limited, critical access hospitals (CAHs) may need to consider collaboration as an option to maintain local viability, allowing CAHs to continue providing access to care and quality services for their rural residents. Collaborative health care models are becoming commonplace in today's health care vocabulary, and already several Midwest CAHs in six states are participating in these types of models. This paper will describe the experiences of these CAHs through survey findings and highlight effective approaches taken to achieve successful rural collaboration. The paper will also identify issues that precipitate discussions about collaborative partnerships and explain what may or may not change as collaborations become more formalized. In addition, implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is accelerating discussions about collaboration among providers in an effort to move to a quality, outcome-based care system as opposed to a volume-driven payment system. CAHs will need to determine which collaborative initiatives are the best match for their organizations and recognize that important unique challenges exist in addressing the long-term sustainability of rural providers.

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  Management’s Perceptions of Annual Financial Reporting

  Craig S. Maher and Shannon N. Sohl

  The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) was established in 1984 as the second operating arm of the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), to serve as the authoritative accounting standard setting body for state and local governmental entities in the United States.1 In 2009, GASB began the third phase of Economic Condition Reporting: Financial Projections and issued guidelines for Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting (aka SEAs) in 2010. To date GASB has issued 70 Statements, with the most recent (No. 67 & No. 68) pertaining to accounting for and reporting of pensions. By far, No. 34 (issued in 1999) was the most significant change GASB made in its history. The ever-increasing evolution of our economy, governmental service provisions, and financing options help explain the continued changes in financial reporting and disclosures. In 2012, the Center for Governmental Studies reviewed dozens of comprehensive annual financial Management’s Perceptions of Annual Financial Reporting An International City/County Management Association (ICMA) white paper Written by: Dr. Craig S. Maher, Associate Professor, Northern Illinois University, teaches public budgeting and financial management in the Division of Public Administration. His research emphasizes fiscal federalism and fiscal condition analysis. Dr. Shannon N. Sohl, CPA, is a Research Associate at Northern Illinois University’s Center for Governmental Studies. Her current research and projects focus predominantly on developing a roadmap, strategies, and tools for improving governmental financial reporting. reports (CAFRs) from a variety of projects and found that those municipal CAFRs generally ranged from 110 pages to more than 250 pages, depending on the size of the community and its service offerings.2 Additionally, this survey revealed that it can take approximately six months for some entities to complete the CAFR, rendering the data stale when introduced. Furthermore, new standards often require additional resources and system changes, and can add to the length of the CAFR and annual close. Yet, to describe the well-known, complex state of public sector financial reporting without taking action is of no use.

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  Breaking into Local Government: A Guidebook for Career Changers

  Dawn S. Peters

  With a record number of professional local government managers retiring, there is a gap in the talent pool the fill these chief administrative officer positions. In order to help fill this gap, ICMA has created this Guide to provide resources for those looking to "break into local government' as a mid-career move. This Guide features case studies that highlight the non-traditional career paths of various ICMA members including the transition from the private sector, federal or state government, and military as well as a number of resources that are available to help ease the transition into professional local government management.

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  Illinois Critical Access Hospitals: Enhancing Quality of Care in Rural Illinois

  Melissa Henriksen and Norman Walzer

  Critical access hospitals (CAHs) are essential to rural health care and play an important role in its delivery as a safety net for rural patients. While CAHs operate in a challenging environment, this report focuses on the Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network (ICAHN) and Illinois CAHs commitment to provide high quality health care despite limited resources, both financial and personnel. Illinois CAHs rank high on several nationally measured patient outcomes, patient satisfaction indicators, and provide a high value, affordable option for rural patients. They are also exploring "rural relevant" measures that consider the distinct characteristics of rural health care delivery, while continuing efforts to increase the number of CAHs reporting on all national measures, and prepare for upcoming required reporting. ICAHN and Illinois CAHs recognize that the effort to accomplish meaningful quality of care outcomes is major, but delivering effective care will benefit patients, hospitals, and the community as a whole.

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  Critical Access Hospital Program: Economic and Community Impact in Illinois

  Norman Walzer, Melissa Henriksen, and Brian Harger

  The Illinois Critical Access Network (ICAHN) is a not-for-profit entity that works with member critical access hospitals to share resources, provide education opportunities, promote operational efficiency and improve health services in their respective communities. In 2006, ICAHN partnered with the Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) at Northern Illinois University (NIU) to analyze the economic impact critical access hospitals (CAHs) generate in Illinois. This project builds on that work. The current project updates information on the effects of CAH designation on various aspects of CAH operations, including revenues and expenditures. This report examines four additional areas: the current economic condition of CAHs and services provided; the impact of the current recession and CAH responses; the economic impact of CAHs on their communities, regions, and statewide; and CAHs adaptation to technology, organizational and personnel changes, and related trends.