As Illinois endured its 20th month without a complete budget, Governor Bruce Rauner proposed a financial plan for the upcoming fiscal year with a significant operating deficit and no details on how to address the State’s multi-billion backlog of unpaid bills. The recommended budget for fiscal year 2018 has general operating revenues of $32.7 billion and expenditures of $37.3 billion, resulting in a budget gap of $4.6 billion. The proposal also shows up to $15.2 billion of unpaid bills at…
The Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation today released its annual Roadmap, with recommendations to restore fiscal balance to Illinois. Illinois has gone more than 19 months without a full-year, comprehensive budget. This prolonged delay— unprecedented in recent history—is the result of a political struggle between Democratic legislators who control the General Assembly and a Republican Governor who took office in January 2015. A stopgap appropriations package…
Click here to read the full report. Prior to the release of the Governor’s annual budget recommendation, the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation releases an analysis of the State of Illinois’ fiscal condition. This report presents the Civic Federation’s multi-year plan to stabilize Illinois’ finances and addresses the State’s critical financial situation. While Illinois has gone more than 19 months without a comprehensive, balanced budget, State…
After nearly 19 months without a budget, Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills currently stands at over $10.9 billion [1]. Without a comprehensive plan to restore fiscal balance, the backlog will only continue to grow. However, even if balance is restored in fiscal year 2018, the backlog accumulated to date presents a challenge to the State and an ongoing burden on its finances. As part of its compromise budget package, the Illinois Senate has proposed to borrow $7 billion to pay…
Surveys show that Americans are divided in their views of the Affordable Care Act. With the incoming administration in Washington vowing to dismantle the federal healthcare law, this blog post examines Illinois’ expansion of the Medicaid program under the act. Medicaid expansion was a key feature of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), designed to reduce the number of people without health insurance. While much of the debate about the 2010 law has focused on its insurance marketplaces, the Medicaid…
The following are the five most read blog posts presented by the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability in 2016. These posts discuss issues ranging from penalties on Illinois’ overdue bills to the ongoing state budget impasse. Penalties on Overdue Bills Add Up for State of Illinois February 17, 2016 This post highlights the interest penalties that the State of Illinois pays due to its delayed bill backlog. According to data from the Illinois Comptroller’s office, late payments…
2017 Civic Federation Legislative Priorities The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2017 include public employee pension reforms, consolidation of local government units in Illinois, expanding the sales tax base while controlling spending, creation of a Local Government Protection Authority, requiring the State of Illinois to build a rainy day fund, development and implementation of a capital improvement plan and extending the …
How much of the State of Illinois’ transportation funding has been diverted for other uses? The issue has attracted new attention because of a proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution that would prohibit the State and its local governments from using transportation-related taxes and fees for other purposes. After winning nearly unanimous support from the General Assembly last spring, the proposal will be on the ballot in the November 8 general election. The measure is widely referred…
Recent decisions by two of the largest State of Illinois retirement systems are expected to result in significant increases to statutorily required pension contributions in the upcoming budget year. This blog post discusses the decisions and their potential impact on the State budget. Changes in Actuarial Assumptions The Boards of Trustees of the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) and the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS) recently voted to revise assumptions that affect the estimated…
August 24, 2016 UPDATE 3: The State now plans to post the draft waiver application on August 26 and hold public hearings in Springfield on September 8 and Chicago on September 9. For more information, see the website of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. August 19, 2016 UPDATE 2: The State has delayed indefinitely the posting of the draft waiver application and public hearings related to the application. A notice from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and…
