06.23.16
In April 2016, the Illinois Department of Revenue announced that it discovered a misallocation totaling an estimated $168 million in extra Personal Property Replacement Taxes (PPRT)...
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06.17.16
In advance of a $550 million bond sale this week, the State of Illinois announced it had negotiated new terms with the largest holder of Illinois swaps. The new lower level for termination of the swaps based on Illinois’ credit ratings dropped to Ba1 with Moody’s Investors Service and BB+ with...
06.09.16
The Illinois General Assembly ended its regular spring session on May 31, 2016 without passing a budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The legislature now has less than one month to complete a budget for the year that begins on July 1, and passage has become more difficult.
After the end...
06.03.16
One year after passing the Illinois General Assembly, a bill that puts the City of Chicago’s Police and Fire pension funds on a 40-year plan to reach 90% funding has become law . Illinois Governor...
05.25.16
The Illinois Department of Revenue announced earlier this spring that the final equalization factor for the Cook County 2015 property assessment year (taxes payable in 2016) is 2.6685....
05.19.16
With the current year’s budget still incomplete, the State of Illinois is now facing the prospect of starting another year without a financial plan.
Due to a political dispute between Illinois’ Republican Governor and Democratic legislators who control the General Assembly, the State...
05.13.16
The Chicago Public Schools faces a potentially devastating financial crisis. The elements of this crisis include:
An FY2016 budget that was not balanced as it depended on the vague hope that the State of Illinois will provide $480 million for pension relief, A forthcoming FY2017 budget that...05.05.16
The State of Illinois can add another complication to its already stressed financial condition, an $800.7 million shortfall in its capital spending plan caused by failure in several of the dedicated revenue sources enacted to fund debt service.
The State relies heavily on the sale of...
05.03.16
The Civic Federation is unable to support Governor Rauner’s recommended budget for FY2017 because it has an operating deficit of at least $3.5 billion and presents an insufficiently detailed plan...
04.28.16
The City of Chicago and Cook County recently joined a number of states nationwide in a move to exempt female hygiene products from the sales tax.
At the Local Level
On March 16, 2016 the Chicago City Council...