In a report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability proposes a comprehensive plan for achieving long-term fiscal sustainability for the State of Illinois. The five-year plan would fully pay down the State’s $5.4 billion backlog of unpaid bills while gradually reducing income tax rates by 20%, broadening the tax base and building a reserve fund as protection against future economic downturns. The full 47-page report is available here. “This…
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. The report reviews Governor Quinn’s three-year budget projection and proposes a comprehensive five-year plan for achieving long-term fiscal sustainability for the State of Illinois. The Civic Federation’s plan would fully pay down the State’s $5.4 billion backlog of unpaid bills while…
The Illinois House of Representatives has approved a revenue projection for the coming fiscal year that includes a $2.2 billion loss in operating resources for FY2015, after a holding series of committee meetings to deliberate varying estimates. The General Funds revenue estimate totaling $34.5 billion was unanimously approved on February 25, 2014 in House Joint Resolution 80. The revenue projection represents a 6.1% drop from the current FY2014 estimate of $36.7 billion by the Illinois…
This week, Chicago Public Schools released its FY2013 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013. In it, the District reports a year-end FY2013 deficit of $119 million that was closed using fund balance. This is smaller than the $273 million deficit that was anticipated when the District released its FY2014 budget. One of the main drivers behind the positive variance was also the cause of a significant increase in fund balance last year: the District received…
It is widely known that the State of Illinois faces a dramatic reduction in general operating revenue starting on January 1, 2015, when temporary income tax rate increases enacted in 2011 are scheduled to partially roll back. General Funds income tax receipts will also decline around the same time for another reason: beginning on February 1, 2015, a portion of individual income tax collections will be diverted from General Funds to fund education and human services. This revenue will not be…
As noted in many media reports and in the Civic Federation’s analysis of the City of Chicago’s FY2014 budget, the City balanced its budget in part with a number of targeted revenue enhancements. One of these revenue enhancements was a reduction in the cap on the partial exemption of the amusement tax that is issued to cable television providers. The amusement tax rate is 9% and cable providers were exempted up to 5%. As of January 1, 2014, the exemption was reduced to 3%, leaving cable…
At a recent committee hearing, Illinois lawmakers were provided with a mixed message regarding the economy and State budget for the coming fiscal year. Officials from the Illinois Department of Revenue explained that although the State could expect improved underlying economic growth in the next two years, operating resources would still plummet in the next year due to current tax policy. Many of the key indicators the Revenue Department uses as the basis for its General Funds revenue…
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle recently announced plans to revisit redevelopment of the 100-year-old Cook County Hospital building, which closed when John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital opened as a replacement facility in 2002. The Civic Federation urged the County to consider selling the property as it would be challenging to identify adequate financial resources within the County budget for such a project.
This segment covers a proposal that was announced by House Speaker Michael Madigan on January 30 to cut Illinois’ corporate income tax in half. The Civic Federation said the proposal lacks a clear plan to address the loss of $1.5 billion in annual State revenue. Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News
This brief provides a compilation of selected consumer taxes, including rates and descriptions, in place in the City of Chicago as of January 10, 2014. It includes such taxes as the sales tax, gas tax, amusement tax, lease tax, hotel tax, liquor tax, restaurant tax, soft drink tax, wheel tax and parking tax.
