Governor Pat Quinn’s administration is promoting a plan for Medicaid health maintenance organizations (HMOs) as a major reform initiative, but several legislators have introduced bills in the General Assembly that would slow or restrict the plan. The pilot program would enroll roughly 40,000 disabled and elderly Medicaid recipients in Northeastern Illinois—excluding Chicago—in HMOs. The plan would mark the first time that HMO enrollment has been mandatory for Medicaid recipients in the State of…
As part of an agreement with legislative leaders to push back the Governor’s annual budget address from February 17, 2010 until March 10, 2010, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget posted preliminary FY2011 budget information to a new state website last week. In an introductory video on the website, Director David Vaught explains the fiscal crisis facing the State and the tough choices ahead for the Governor and General Assembly. In the video, Mr. Vaught explains that the…
The State of Illinois’ underfunding of its retirement systems is a growing source of pressure on the State’s operating budget and an increasing focus of national attention. In a recent report by the Pew Center on the States, Illinois was found to be in the worst shape of any state with regard to the funding of its pension systems. The financial information in the Pew report was based on data from June 30, 2008. As part of the recently released Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan for the State of…
An Analysis of the State’s Fiscal Crisis and Actionable Recommendations for Governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois General Assembly Please visit the Illinois Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan web page for a comprehensive look at the report. This report describes the basis of the State of Illinois’ fiscal crisis and presents the Civic Federation’s plan for rehabilitating the State’s finances. The plan proposes measures to substantially reduce the current budget deficit in FY2011 and to place the State…
An Analysis of the State’s Fiscal Crisis and Actionable Recommendations for Governor Pat Quinn and the Illinois General Assembly The Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan for the State of Illinois describes the basis of Illinois’ current fiscal crisis and presents the Civic Federation’s plan to salvage the State’s finances. This plan calls for a comprehensive package of budget cuts, pension reforms, and revenue increases to put Illinois on solid financial footing and address its nationally-recognized…
The State’s fiscal crisis is causing substantial difficulties for residents, state workers, state service providers and other governments. Budget cuts in early FY2010, which began July 1, led to reductions in state-funded services for some of Illinois’ lowest income citizens. Now, with the economy still mired in recession, the State is increasingly hard-pressed to pay its bills. Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills has risen to unprecedented levels and the lag time in paying bills has nearly…
The State of Illinois has unveiled more details about its plan to enroll elderly and disabled Medicaid recipients in health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and has announced that the plan is expected to save taxpayers nearly $200 million over five years. The new details about the HMO plan came in a Request for Proposals (RFP) issued on Friday, February 5, 2010. The State’s Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) plans to choose two HMOs to provide Medicaid-covered services to 37,737…
Although the Governor and General Assembly enacted laws to provide for ethics reform and campaign finance reform last year, much needed fiscal reform of the State’s budget has yet to make it to the top of the legislative agenda in Illinois. Despite facing a massive budget shortfall from FY2009 and the looming specter of failing revenues, last year the General Assembly enacted a budget for FY2010 that took no action to address the State’s widening structural deficit. The Governor’s proposed…
On February 7 the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will implement layoffs and service reductions intended to reduce its FY2010 operating costs by $95.6 million. The Authority, which faced a $300.9 million deficit when crafting its FY2010 operating budget, will lay off 1,100 employees and offer less frequent service on 119 bus routes and seven train lines. The Authority’s other deficit reduction measures include $32 million in savings from salary freezes, furlough days and unpaid holidays for…
The Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability recently released its examination of the State of Illinois’ enacted FY2010 budget. The analysis shows that the State already faces a two-year budget deficit going into FY2011 totaling at least $12.8 billion but it also revealed that the Governor plans to spend an addition $885 million before the fiscal year ends on June 30. If other revenues are not identified, or cuts made in other areas, this additional spending could…
