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Amanda Kass

Assistant Professor, School of Public Service, DePaul University
Chapter Member: Chicagoland SSN
Areas of Expertise:

Connect with Amanda

(646) 662-6557
Professional Website

About Amanda

Dr. Kass’s research interests include public finance, public pensions, housing markets, and urban governance, particularly at the local scale. Her current project focuses on the American Rescue Plan Act's State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund program, which delivered $350 billion in flexible federal aid to U.S. states, cities, counties, towns and villages. Her work has been published in Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, Progress in Human Geography and Urban Affairs Review. She is an interdisciplinary scholar who holds a PhD in Urban Planning and Policy, a MA in Geography and BA in Geography and International Studies.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | Member Spotlight | In the News | Publications

Contributions

The Recent Reemergence – And Risks to Buyers – Of Renting-to-Own Home Contract Sales

Key Findings Brief,

In the News

Quoted by Emily Badger and Quoctrung Bui in "The Recession Is About to Slam Cities. Not Just the Blue-State Ones," The New York Times, August 17, 2020.
Quoted by Mary Hansen in "Springfield’s Shortfall Illustrates Broader Pension Problem," NPR Illinois, December 5, 2019.
Quoted by Mary Hansen in "Springfield’s Shortfall Illustrates Broader Pension Problem," NPR Illinois, December 5, 2019.
Quoted by Tim Jones and Jared Rutecki in "Pressure on Property Taxes Mounts for Towns across Illinois amid Pension Burden," Better Government Association, October 30, 2019.
Quoted by Jamie Munks and Dan Petrella in "Hundreds of Small Pension Funds Statewide Face Troubling Debt. Is Consolidation the Way to Go?," Chicago Tribune, August 9, 2019.
Interviewed in "Looking At Pritzker's Pension Plan," NPR Illinois, April 25, 2019.
Opinion: "Why Illinois's Non-Budget is Actually the Worst Budget Ever," Amanda Kass, Chicago Magazine, May 30, 2018.
Quoted by Rummana Hussain in "Illinois Voters Approve ‘Safe Roads Amendment," Chicago Sun Times, November 8, 2016.
Guest on Chicago Tonight, April 1, 2014.

Publications

"Using National Data Sources to Compare Subnational Policies: Insights from the American Rescue Plan Act" (with Amanda Kass). Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice 26, no. 6 (2024): 626-647.

Examines how official federal datasets on subnational fiscal activity can obscure the political dynamics behind local budget decisions, arguing that researchers must critically consider both the technical and political contexts in which these datasets are produced.

"Taking a Risk: Explaining the Use of Complex Debt Finance by the Chicago Public Schools" (with Martin J. Luby and Rachel Weber). Urban Affairs Review (2018).

Develops several explanations for local government risk-taking with the case study of the Chicago Public School's use of auction rate securities and interest rate swaps.