The Civic Federation opposes Governor Pat Quinn’s recommended budget for FY2015 because it uses revenue from extending the 2011 temporary income tax increase for new spending. The State’s fiscal crisis demands that any increased revenue be used to stabilize State finances by significantly reducing its massive backlog of unpaid bills. The Civic Federation is encouraged that the recommended budget…
As part of the FY2015 budget recommendation for the State of Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn provided two separate five-year projections for both “recommended” and “not recommended” budget proposals. The long-term outlooks show the implications of the extension of higher income tax rates in the recommended budget and the considerable spending reductions that would be necessary to balance the State’s…
The consolidation and dissolution of local units of government has been the subject of much discussion recently in Illinois. The purpose of this blog post is to briefly summarize a recent report released by the Illinois Local Government Consolidation Commission and other relevant legislation aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations by streamlining the…
Governor Pat Quinn’s recommended budget for FY2015 proposes that the State of Illinois build a financial cushion to deal with future economic downturns. The Governor suggests the creation of an adequate “rainy day” fund in a five-year blueprint for the State, but specifics of the plan have not been provided. The State’s perilous financial situation—a looming revenue loss due to income tax rate…
Although the budget recommended by Governor Pat Quinn for FY2015 proposes extending current income tax rates to avoid a massive revenue cliff, it also relies on borrowing $650 million to close a budget gap and pay down a portion of the State’s backlog of unpaid bills. Despite the additional income tax revenues, total General Funds revenues from State taxes and fees combined with federal…
UPDATE: On June 4, 2014, the State of Illinois filed its application for a $5 billion Medicaid plan with the federal government. Advocates for Medicaid recipients said they were told by State officials that there were no substantial changes from the version of the plan posted for public comment in February. Original post published on April 11, 2014 Despite a scheduled submission date of March…
On March 26, 2014, Governor Pat Quinn presented an FY2015 budget proposal for the State of Illinois that avoids a fiscal cliff by retaining temporary income tax increases that were scheduled to be phased out beginning in January 2015. The Governor’s recommended budget also significantly increases the property tax credit for homeowners on State income taxes. In order to balance the budget and pay…
Next week Governor Pat Quinn will give his sixth budget address since taking office in 2009. The budget is expected to be one of the most difficult of his tenure considering that the State is currently expected to have approximately $5.4 billion in unpaid bills at the end of FY2014 and will see a loss of $1.6 billion in General Funds revenues in FY2015, due to the reduced income tax rates that…
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 exclude all federally taxed Social Security income, according to a report from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. The Illinois Comptroller estimates…
Last month, an independent Blue Ribbon Panel convened by the Society of Actuaries released its report with recommendations to improve the financial health of public pension plans. Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, was a member of the panel, along with actuaries, economists, former plan trustees and government and financial experts. Mr. Msall was also interviewed as part of a…
