Total revenues collected by the State of Illinois in FY2012 beat expectations by $576 million, according to an update from the General Assembly’s financial oversight commission. However, the same report suggested that stalled economic growth may prevent continued gains in the current fiscal year. In its monthly briefing for June 2012, the last month of FY2012, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) reported that General Funds revenue totaled $33.8 billion, which is…
The State of Illinois budget for fiscal year 2013 underfunds the expected cost of State group health insurance by at least $550 million, paving the way for a significant increase in unpaid bills unless more spending is authorized later this year. Governor Pat Quinn signed the $33.7 billion budget on June 30, 2012, one day before the start of the current fiscal year. The Governor had recommended a General Funds budget for FY2013 of $33.8 billion based on a somewhat higher revenue projection.…
As public pension liabilities around the nation continue to grow, public officials and pension fund boards are looking into alternatives to traditional defined benefit (DB) pension plans. Two kinds of “hybrid” retirement plans have achieved particular prominence in the past year: plans that combine a smaller DB plan with a supplemental 401(k)-style plan, known as “DB+DC”[1] and cash balance (CB) plans. Pension reform legislation considered by the Illinois General Assembly during the spring…
Despite increased revenues from higher income tax rates and a slight improvement in tax receipts due to some economic stabilization, the State of Illinois’ audited financial statements indicate fiscal deterioration continued through the end of FY2011. Increased bonded debt and long-term liabilities due to underfunding of the State’s retirement systems far outpaced growth in capital assets and fund balances, leading to a total deficit in Illinois’ net assets for governmental activities of $43.8…
In light of the State of Illinois’ pension funding crisis, it has become more widely understood that the annual Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA, plays a large role in the State’s overall pension costs. Just how large, however, has been difficult to pin down. As discussed here, detailed information on pension costs and projected savings due to proposed changes was hard to come by during the General Assembly session that ended on May 31, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn’s legislative working group on…
As part of the spring legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly approved a sweeping reform measure intended to add transparency, accountability and competition to the State’s Enterprise Zone Act. The final version of the measure, Senate Bill 3616, passed both chambers of the legislature unopposed on the final day of regular session, May 31, 2012. Earlier in the spring a series of community meetings and hearings were held to assess the effectiveness and need for the geographically based…
State of Illinois officials expect unpaid Medicaid bills to decline to $600 million by the end of the 2013 budget year, but that prediction depends on legislation that has not yet passed the Senate. As discussed here, unpaid Medicaid bills on hand were projected to reach nearly $1.9 billion by the end of the current fiscal year on June 30, 2012, due largely to significant underfunding of the program. The backlog of bills would have increased to roughly $4.5 billion by the end of FY2013 without…
This blog post was updated on June 4, 2012 to reflect corrected information. With just hours to go before a midnight adjournment deadline, the Illinois General Assembly has passed most components of a legislative package designed to eliminate a projected $2.7 billion gap in the Medicaid budget for FY2013. The bills, which are expected to be signed by Governor Pat Quinn, include Medicaid program reductions, reimbursement rate cuts for healthcare providers and a cigarette tax increase. Another…
UPDATE: On Thursday, August 2, 2012, Governor Quinn signed legislation to require all counties to release their financial statements within six months of the end of their fiscal year as Public Act 097-0890. The legislation takes effect upon becoming law. On May 11, 2012 the Illinois House of Representatives joined the Illinois Senate in voting to eliminate an exemption for Illinois’ largest and smallest counties from releasing their financial statements in a timely fashion. The Civic Federation…
The Illinois General Assembly passed legislation to end the Legislative Scholarship Program as of September 1, 2012—allowing lawmakers one more opportunity to award the controversial tuition waivers before they are eliminated. House Bill 3810, as amended by the Senate, was approved by the House on May 21, 2012 by a vote of 79 to 32. In addition to ending the legislative tuition waivers as of this fall, the bill also establishes a task force to review all tuition and fee waivers granted by the…
