On July 14, 2010, Cook County Commissioners approved by a vote of 9 to 3 a strategic plan to reorient the County’s health system more toward outpatient care and away from inpatient hospital services. The five-year plan calls for closing the emergency room and inpatient facilities at Oak Forest Hospital. At Provident Hospital, the emergency room would remain open, but most inpatient beds would be eliminated. Savings from these steps would be used to expand outpatient services across the County’s…
Almost immediately after the Illinois General Assembly approved an unbalanced budget for FY2011, two of the three major rating agencies downgraded the state’s debt ratings. It was the fifth time in the last 18 months that Illinois has seen its ratings reduced by Fitch and the third reduction from Moody’s. Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has also reduced the State’s rating three times in the past 18 months but has not taken further action since January. All three agencies still consider Illinois…
This editorial is about the State of Illinois’ FY2011 enacted budget. It mentions the Civic Federation’s alternative budget recommendations as one of several possible solutions overlooked by legislators.
This editorial discusses recent efforts to reform Illinois’ Medicaid system. It cites a finding in the Civic Federation’s “Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan for the State of Illinois” that enrollment in the system doubled between 1998 and 2008 while the State’s population only increased by 5.1 percent.
This article describes how Illinois' budget crisis is affecting schools, universities and social services across the state. The Civic Federation is quoted saying that the State's budget situation has been getting worse, financed by more borrowing and more unpaid bills.
On July 1, 2010—the first day of the State of Illinois’ FY2011 fiscal year—Governor Pat Quinn said that his budget for the new year will contain major spending cuts. However, most of the reductions have yet to be determined and the FY2011 budget continues to be unbalanced, with an expected operating deficit of $5.9 billion. The Governor announced at a press conference that his FY2011 General Funds budget will total $24.9 billion. That total is approximately $1.1 billion below the $26 billion…
Last month the State of Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) released a report entitled “Sales Tax in Illinois.". According to the report, in FY2009 general revenue fund sales tax collections totaled $6.77 billion, down 6.1% from $7.21 billion in the prior fiscal year. It is estimated that general revenue fund sales tax collections will continue to decline in FY2010, falling 8.5% from the FY2009 level.[1] In its report COGFA highlights the…
This article about Governor Quinn’s plan to sign the FY2011 Illinois budget passed by the Illinois General Assembly mentions that State legislators have not followed recommendations made by the Civic Federation in its analyses of the State’s finances.
This National Public Radio segment is about how some states are struggling to cope with massive budget deficits. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall says Illinois’ fiscal troubles – 30 years in the making and rooted partially in the State’s underfunded public pension system – are causing the State to delay payments to service providers and schools and its bond ratings to fall.
This article is about how state pension systems around the country are coping with the effects of the financial crisis. The Civic Federation comments on the State of Illinois’ recent pension reforms, saying that the reforms are a good first step, but do not address the State’s unfunded pension liabilities.
