Tax revenues that states depend on to fund operations continue to decrease, dropping at least $119.7 billion nationwide in the most recent fiscal quarter. A study released by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government on November 23, 2009 also shows that Illinois continues to be one of the hardest hit by revenue losses during the current recession. Illinois was one of only ten states that showed double-digit declines in all three major revenue categories, reporting an 11.7% loss in…
While politicians, unions and other supporters of Howe Developmental Center fight to keep it open, a new report from the U.S. Justice Department has raised more questions about Howe’s viability. The report is the result of a federal investigation that began in 2007 under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act. The Justice Department found that Howe failed to protect its residents from attacks and neglect and that it did not provide adequate medical care. Many of the problems “are due…
The State of Illinois’ inadequate funding of its employee retirement systems has already contributed to downgrades in the State’s credit ratings and will continue to affect rating decisions for many years, according to a new report by Moody’s Investors Service. The report comes as Illinois’ Pension System Modernization Task Force is preparing to issue recommendations to the General Assembly to reform the State’s pension plans. Governor Pat Quinn had urged sweeping pension reforms in his FY2010…
Governor Pat Quinn plans to borrow an additional $900 million to keep the State of Illinois afloat, marking the third time since May of 2009 that the State has used short-term borrowing to offset revenue shortfalls. The Governor said last week that he will use $205 million of the total $900 million to fund scholarships for low-income students under the Monetary Award Program (MAP). The General Assembly recently approved the additional MAP funding but did not specify a source of revenues. The…
The State of Illinois’ fiscal crisis has had a major impact on the State’s employee health insurance plan, delaying payments on employee medical bills paid by the State for roughly seven months and causing the State to delay paying premiums to managed care companies for three and a half months. It is taking an average of 209 days for the State’s self-insured health plan to pay its bills, according to an October 23, 2009 letter from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS…
The State of Illinois’ personal income tax revenue for FY2010 is now expected to be $850 million lower than projected when the budget was approved in July 2009, according to David Vaught, the newly appointed Director of the Government’s Office of Management and Budget. The latest estimate of approximately $9.4 billion is down roughly 8% from the $10.2 billion projection used to develop the budget for FY2010. Personal income tax collections—the State’s largest single revenue source—totaled…
The Illinois House of Representatives voted on October 14, 2009 to reduce the number of votes required to override a veto by the Cook County Board President from an extraordinary four-fifths—or 14 of 17 commissioners—to three-fifths or 11. House Bill 4625, introduced by Representative Mark Walker, was approved 98-18-2 yesterday and would be effective immediately if it becomes law. The Illinois Senate unanimously approved a different veto override measure (SB1868, sponsored by Senator Dan…
As part of his efforts to rein in the State of Illinois budget, Governor Pat Quinn is requiring all state retirees to contribute to the costs of their dental insurance as of October 1, 2009. Previously, the State’s contribution for retiree dental premiums ranged from 45% 40%* for retirees with eight years of service up to 100% for those with 20 years or more. Now, all retirees are charged the same monthly premium as active workers--$11 for one retiree, $17 for one retiree and one dependent…
Tens of thousands of Medicaid recipients and doctors were involved in potentially fraudulent or abusive purchases of prescription drugs in 2006 and 2007 in five states, including Illinois, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO examined cases of potential “doctor shopping,” in which a patient used at least six different doctors. Visits to numerous prescribers can be a way to disguise an addiction or obtain drugs to fraudulently sell, the report said.…
The surprise expansion of gambling to all corners of Illinois in the form of legalized video poker that was enacted by the General Assembly has not been well received by many residents or local governments. A recent poll conducted by the Chicago Tribune showed that nearly 60% of Illinois residents opposed legalizing video poker and many counties and cities are taking advantage of a provision in the law that allows local jurisdictions to ban video gaming. The law also allows video poker to be…
