Government Budgets

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Cost of Illinois' Retirement Income Tax Exemption

Unlike the federal government, the State of Illinois exempts all retirement income from the individual income tax. Of the 41 states that impose an income tax, Illinois is one of only three that exempt all pension income and one of 27 that…

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State in deepest financial hole ever

This article reviews the findings of Illinois’ Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for fiscal year 2013, which shows Illinois is still in the worst financial shape of the 50 states, but it’s rate of deterioration has slowed. The Civic…

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Emanuel borrowing carries steep price tag

This article discusses an $883 million bond sale by the City of Chicago that will largely be used for debt refinancing and short-term expenses. The Civic Federation said a well-managed government would not be issuing debt to pay for its…

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Taxable Sales Tax Deal Next Up For Illinois

This article discusses Illinois’ March 11 sale of taxable revenue-backed bonds in the context of the State’s temporary income tax increase scheduled to rollback in January 2015. It cites the Civic Federation’s recommendation to gradually…

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Our View: A real plan to rescue Illinois, Inc.

This editorial highlights the recommendations in the Civic Federation’s State of Illinois FY2015 Budget Roadmap and calls the Federation’s plan a thoughtful, comprehensive…

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Editorial: Federation financial plan sound, but will state listen?

This editorial examines the Civic Federation’s State of Illinois FY2015 Budget Roadmap and calls the Federation’s plan a “reasonable and balanced approach” to addressing…

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Taxing retirement benefits controversial, but viewed by some as matter of fairness

This article focuses on the Civic Federation’s recommendation for Illinois to include federally taxable amounts of retirement income in its income tax base. Of the 41 states that impose an income tax, Illinois is one of only three that…

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Moody's Downgrade Reflects Chicago's Pension Crisis and Looming Budgetary Challenges

Four weeks ago, the Civic Federation blogged about the Chicago City Council granting the City authority to issue general…

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Long-Term Financial Plan Recommended for State of Illinois

In its recently released FY2015 budget roadmap report, the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation recommended that the…

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Civic Federation: Keep most of Illinois' 'temporary' income tax hike

This article looks at findings of the Civic Federation’s State of Illinois FY2015 Budget Roadmap released by the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability on March 3. The…