After three years of increasing budget deficits, the State of Illinois is expected to see a smaller budget gap at the end of FY2011 because of tax increases and expanded borrowing for operations. The FY2011 year-end deficit is currently projected to total $4.4 billion, according to Civic Federation calculations based on information in Governor Pat Quinn’s FY2012 recommended budget. That compares…
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton has recently suggested that school districts should begin contributing a larger share of the employer contribution to the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois. President Cullerton noted that this change would relieve some of the financial pressure on the State, which has borrowed to make its pension payments for the past two years. He has…
The Illinois House of Representatives took a significant step in its annual budget negotiations this week when legislators unanimously passed a resolution limiting General Funds spending to $33.2 billion. The cap on spending is tied to the total estimated revenues for FY2012 set by the House Revenue Committee and is significantly lower than the $36.8 billion annual spending limit included…
For the second year in a row, the State of Illinois raised funds in the municipal bond market to make its annual pension contributions. On February 23, 2011, the State finalized the sale of $3.7 billion worth of Pension Obligation Bonds (POB) for FY2011. Similar to its FY2010 POB sale, Illinois’ bonds that sold last week were also oversubscribed, meaning more orders were placed for the…
In order to pay income tax refunds owed to taxpayers, the State of Illinois sets aside a percentage of income tax receipts received throughout the year and deposits them into a special fund. Different percentages apply to individuals and businesses, but all refunds are paid from the same fund—the Income Tax Refund Fund. These percentages are known as Refund Fund rates. The higher the Refund Fund…
Governor Pat Quinn’s proposed FY2012 budget for the State of Illinois features additional borrowing and an overall increase in spending, despite steep spending reductions in the area of human services. The Governor’s FY2012 budget, issued on February 16, 2011, includes total operating resources of $33.9 million and total expenditures of $35.4 billion. In order to close the operating shortfall,…
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 and actionable recommendations for the Governor and General Assembly for the coming fiscal year. This year the State of Illinois Budget Roadmap also includes an analysis and recommendations…
Illinois’ budgetary woes put it in the company of states such as California and Nevada that are suffering major economic consequences due to unsound fiscal policies and the current economic climate. However, other states, including those known for better fiscal management, are being forced to make tough choices to reconcile their budgets. The state of Texas, whose economic condition was described…
The State of Illinois is anticipating a large increase in revenues from income tax rate increases approved in January and additional resources from borrowing to make its pension payment for the second year in a row. Even so, the Governor and General Assembly are considering borrowing billions more before the end of the fiscal year. The massive borrowing plan was introduced in the prior…
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…
