Use of Education Stimulus Money in Illinois Raises Concerns
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that more information is needed to determine whether local school districts that receive federal stimulus money…
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that more information is needed to determine whether local school districts that receive federal stimulus money…
The Governor’s office recently published its first official document that included details of the revenues and expenditures approved by the General Assembly for FY2010 fiscal year. The Official Statement accompanying the sale of $1.25…
Starting today, increases in the taxation rates on soft drinks, personal grooming and hygiene products, and candy will take effect to help pay for…
Earlier this spring the Civic Federation opposed the $26 billion capital plan proposed by Governor Quinn because it was…
More details are finally available on the FY2010 operating budget, and it would be difficult to describe it as balanced—even on paper. Depending on how you look at it, there is technically either a $157 million deficit or an $872 million…
Hoping that Illinois lawmakers will agree to an income tax increase later this year, Governor Pat Quinn chose not to make the necessary cuts to work within the budget approved on July 15, 2009 by the General Assembly. At a press conference…
In this interview, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall discusses the Illinois State operating budget deficit and the State’s unwise choice to borrow money in order to make its mandatory pension contributions.
This editorial examines the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Pat Quinn’s difficulty in passing an operating budget that does not rely on borrowing to meet its obligations. The Civic Federation is quoted enumerating the many problems…
This editorial mentions the Civic Federation as one of the many groups opposed to Governor Pat Quinn’s plan to legalize video poker to help finance the State’s $31 billion infrastructure repair bill.
In this column, Mark Brown discusses the State’s current fiscal crisis, and the choices that the State made to get to this point, and the possible loss of State services in the future. He quotes the Civic Federation, which says that…