In discussions of the State of Illinois’ budget, no issue is more contentious—or more confusing—than recent spending trends. Simply stated, is Illinois spending more or less than it was two years ago? As previously indicated on this blog, the answer depends on what is meant by spending. According to preliminary information (available at MuniOs.com) provided by the State on January 21, 2011 in…
The Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation recently described how some State of Illinois pension bond proceeds could be transferred to the State’s General Funds and used for other operating purposes. The final legislation authorizing the state to borrow money in order to make its FY2011 pension contribution may open the door for the state to transfer some of the…
In addition to the tax increase and spending limits bill approved in the last hours of the 96th Illinois General Assembly, the legislature authorized a new round of pension borrowing with provisions that could lead to hundreds of millions in bond proceeds being transferred to the State’s General Funds and used for operations. Almost a year after the Governor proposed borrowing to make the State’s…
In the last hours of the 96th Illinois General Assembly, on January 11, 2011, the legislature took significant action on the State’s budget by passing a bill to increase personal income tax rates from 3% to 5% and corporate income tax rates from 4.8% to 7%. Governor Quinn signed the measure on January 13. The income tax increases, combined with legislation authorizing borrowing of approximately $…
On January 13, 2011, the Civic Federation sent this letter to Governor Quinn urging him to sign Senate Bill 3778. Click here to read a Civic Federation blog post on the bill. Dear Governor Quinn: The Civic Federation urges you to sign Senate Bill 3778, a bill that will end the Seniors Ride Free program. This program has strained the resources of public transit agencies while allowing…
Over the course of 2010 the IIFS blog explored a number of State of Illinois budget topics ranging from Medicaid/HMO funding issues to the State public pension system. Posts on the IIFS blog not only supplement IIFS publications, but also provide additional context and commentary to events in the news and State budget events. Posts about the State Medicaid system featured prominently on the…
In 2010 the Civic Federation blog provided comprehensive information about government and fiscal issues across Illinois for the public, government officials and media. In a range of posts on topics from the effect Public Act 96-0889 would have on local government pension systems to explaining nuances of the Cook County property tax system, the Federation blog offered rapid-response commentary on…
Congress appears to have sealed the fate of the federal Build America Bond (BAB) subsidy by not including renewal of the program in the package of unemployment benefits and tax incentives authorized last week. Now with less than two weeks left before the program is set to expire on December 31, 2010, many governments are rushing to market with last minute bond sales to take advantage of the hefty…
Illinois lawmakers are on a fast-track schedule to reform the State’s Medicaid program, but proposals from state officials and other experts appear to face stiff opposition. As previously discussed in this blog, the Illinois General Assembly’s review of the Medicaid program is part of a push by Democrats that began after the November 2 elections to make changes in state programs long criticized…
Despite initial results showing that the State of Illinois’ recent tax amnesty program brought in more than $500 million in delinquent tax revenues, a report from the legislature’s financial oversight commission questions how much new General Funds revenue is actually included in the total funds received. The General Assembly approved the tax amnesty program to help boost revenues as part of the…
