Even without an annual operating budget, the State of Illinois has already spent billions of dollars for the fiscal year that began on July 1, 2015. What remains unclear is how much the State is obligated to pay out for the entire year and how that compares with estimated FY2016 revenues. The State is obligated to make numerous FY2016 payments due to continuing appropriations and court orders.…
Although the State of Illinois in entering the second month of its new fiscal year without an operating budget, the Governor and General Assembly have agreed on a capital construction budget for fiscal year 2016. Governor Bruce Rauner issued several line item vetoes to the capital appropriations bill, which primarily reauthorized ongoing spending from the Illinois Jobs Now! program that…
More than three weeks into fiscal year 2016, the State of Illinois continues to operate without an annual budget. Despite the lack of a budget, members of the General Assembly are reportedly in line to get pay raises of about 2%, or at least $1,300 each, for the year that began on July 1, 2015. The reasons are complicated and relate to prior legal disputes between Illinois governors and the…
The State of Illinois’ new fiscal year began on July 1, 2015 without an annual budget and with no clear end in sight to the impasse between Governor Bruce Rauner and the General Assembly. On July 9, the legislature was widely expected to send the Governor a stopgap budget designed to fund essential State operations for one month. However, that effort stalled amid a partisan dispute about paying…
The Illinois General Assembly has approved a $36.3 billion general operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year with an acknowledged shortfall of at least $3.0 billion in revenues. The package of approximately 20 appropriation bills and other budget-related legislation was passed during the last week in May, at the end of the legislature’s regular spring session. But amid an impasse with…
UPDATE: Subsequent to the publication of this blog, House Bill 777 was amended to include provisions of the City’s proposal to extend the amortization of its Police and Fire pension funding through 2055 instead of 2040 as under current law. The legislation includes a 90% target for the systems’ funding ratios and a five-year ramp of lower payments leading into the new contribution schedule.…
An Illinois Supreme Court decision overturning legislation to reduce the State’s massive pension costs will add to the difficulty of creating a balanced operating budget for the year that begins on July 1, 2015. The high court struck down the law on May 8, ruling that it violated the Illinois Constitution by cutting benefits for retirees and employees. The 2013 legislation reduced annual benefit…
The Civic Federation opposes Governor Bruce Rauner’s recommended budget for FY2016 because it relies heavily on projected savings that do not appear to be achievable or prudent in light of the State of Illinois’ obligations and long-term policy objectives. Savings of $2.2 billion related to a new pension reform proposal are assumed to be realized in the budget, even though this proposal has not…
The Civic Federation joined with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on April 2, 2015 to co-host a conference on the use, efficacy and future of sin taxes. Experts, practitioners and academics from around the country gathered to discuss the theories surrounding governments’ use of sin taxes as well as national trends and issues specific to tobacco, marijuana and gaming revenue. Attendees to the…
A week after passing legislation to address a $1.6 billion budget deficit before the end of the fiscal year in June, the State swept $300 million into its operating accounts from funds designated to pay for annual transportation construction projects. An additional $200 million sweep of sales tax funds collected by the State to be distributed to local governments has yet to be transferred over to…
