Commentary: The Civic Federation under Laurence Msall argued that fiscal responsibility was a prerequisite for all the other goals in Chicago and Illinois.
Civic Federation President Laurence Msall, left, presents analysis about financing, insurance and transparency regarding the city's bid for the 2016 summer Olympic Games at Chicago City Hall in 2009. Msall died Saturday.
Over more than two decades as leader of the Civic Federation, critiquing budgets, pensions, debt issues and policy proposals, Msall set the standard for analysis and forecasting. And he did so with such unwavering conviction, insight and sense of fairness that he earned a place of influence and honor in Chicago’s civic conversation.When word spread Saturday thatdue to complications from a heart procedure, what struck first was a sense of personal loss.
And it wasn’t just about budgets and finance. Recent Civic Federation research reports have covered bond court hearings and the elimination of cash bail, spending on public safety, and the tracking of COVID-19 relief funds. When the Better Government Association’s policy team late last year, Msall’s Civic Federation joined as an equal partner.
He took seriously the responsibility of leading an organization that has roots, since its founding in 1894, in the unending struggle to improve Chicago’s economic, political and moral climate. Yet he mixed those high-minded ideals with a sense of timing, a feel for what might be possible in the here and now — and what might take more time.He earned this horse sense honestly. Two stints in state government, under Republican Govs. Jim Thompson and George Ryan, gave him real-world insight.
There were times when Msall spoke out forcefully. He was an early outspoken critic of the state’s “pension holiday” under Gov. Rod Blagojevich, for example. But just as often, he was intentionally measured in what he said — knowing that just an arched eyebrow from him carried more weight than volumes of verbiage from most anyone else.
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