UPDATE: The State Universities Retirement System (SURS) does not expect to be ready to fully implement pension buyout plans for its members during FY2019, according to documents provided to the Civic Federation. SURS attributed the delay to complex benefit provisions, limited staffing and poor quality payroll information. As discussed below, the other two large State pension funds, the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement Systems, expect to be ready to start offering the plans as early as…
Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills stood at nearly $7.4 billion as of September 13, down from its peak of nearly $16.8 billion in November 2017. The State’s FY2018 budget stopped the backlog’s growth by ending the two-year budget impasse and authorizing the issuance of $6 billion in bonds to pay off unpaid obligations. The State’s FY2019 budget, however, has a projected (and unlikely) surplus of only $11 million that could be used to reduce unpaid bills. Although there is no plan to pay down…
With governments in Illinois facing steep increases in yearly pension contributions, new plans are being floated to borrow billions of dollars to stabilize ailing pension funds and relieve budgetary pressures. The City of Chicago is considering issuing $10 billion in pension obligation bonds (POBs) to shore up its retirement systems. As part of a plan by the non-profit Center for Tax and Budget Accountability to stretch out and flatten the State’s required pension contributions, the State of…
Annually the Civic Federation completes an analysis of the proposed budget of the City Colleges of Chicago. The Federation’s latest analysis of the City Colleges budget can be found here. This blog post expands on the Civic Federation’s analysis of City Colleges of Chicago by taking a look at the revenues and expenditures of all the public community colleges in Illinois, as well as a comparison of funding for community colleges located in the Chicagoland area. According to the Illinois…
Since Illinois passed its budget for the current fiscal year, many questions have been raised about the $445 million in savings expected from enacted pension changes. What is the basis for the savings estimate and how accurate is it likely to be? The assumed reductions in State pension contributions are the result of three provisions in the FY2019 budget legislation. The most important is a voluntary buyout plan that offers certain employees who are about to retire upfront cash payments—in…
Following the enactment of the State of Illinois FY2019 budget on June 4, the Civic Federation blog has analyzed the potential impact on the General Funds and on local governments. This blog post will discuss the provisions for capital spending and the State’s long-term debt. FY2019 Capital Budget For the most part, the appropriations bill passed by the General Assembly includes all capital spending requested by Governor Bruce Rauner in his proposed FY2019 capital budget. The proposal included…
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner presented his FY2019 State budget proposal in February for the State fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2018. As discussed in an earlier blog post, the proposal included measures that would have affected local governments including municipalities, counties and transit agencies. The State of Illinois FY2019 enacted budget was passed by the Illinois General Assembly on May 31 and signed by Governor Rauner on June 4. This blog post provides an update on two of the…
After three years of political gridlock and missed deadlines, the Illinois General Assembly passed a budget for the coming fiscal year on the last day of its regular spring session. Governor Bruce Rauner promptly signed the budget amid bipartisan celebration. Although the $38.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2019 is roughly balanced on paper, concerns persist about whether the revenue and spending estimates are realistic. The budget assumes savings of $382 million from a new pension buyout…
When will Illinois have a budget for Fiscal Year 2019? The issue is of intense concern because of the State’s recent history: full budgets for FY2016 and FY2017 were never enacted, while the General Assembly enacted a budget for FY2018 over Governor Rauner’s veto six days into the fiscal year. Another long-term budget standoff between the legislature and Governor would undoubtedly be disastrous for the State. The question of whether it can be avoided looms as the State nears a technical…
Click here to read the full report. The Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability is not able to support Governor Bruce Rauner’s recommended FY2019 budget because it is precariously balanced and its modest surplus relies on aggressive assumptions. Additionally, the proposal does little to address Illinois’ massive backlog of bills. While the Civic Federation is encouraged by the improved financial condition of the State, Illinois still faces severe fiscal problems,…
