The health insurance programs for the State of Illinois’ retired public school teachers outside of Chicago and downstate community college employees face mounting backlogs of unpaid claims as costs continue to outpace revenues, according to a recent report. The report, by the legislature’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, (COGFA) examines the financial condition of the…
According to the latest legislative report on gaming in Illinois, total casino revenues have recovered since the opening of the State’s tenth riverboat casino in 2012 after several years of decline. However, State tax revenues from casino gaming remain stagnant despite the improvement. The annual report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) on wagering revenues…
As part of its ongoing analysis of State and local government budgets, the Civic Federation also reviews proposed capital budgets along with any planning documents provided in support of infrastructure investments. Although many governments approve new and reappropriated capital spending on an annual basis, few public entities in Illinois have based these expenditures on comprehensive capital…
Aided by an unexpected surge in income tax collections in April 2013, the State of Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills is projected to decline to roughly $5.8 billion at the end of FY2014. As shown in the table below and discussed in a new report by the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability, that would represent a decrease of nearly $3.0 billion from an estimated $8.8…
This analysis of the State of Illinois’ Fiscal Year 2014 Enacted Budget finds that the budget may represent a high-water mark, with future years bringing sharp reductions in revenues and further consequences of the unresolved pension crisis. Although the State reduced the backlog of unpaid bills to $5.8 billion, that progress is threatened by legislative failure to prepare for extreme financial…
The State of Illinois does not currently have a comprehensive policy on economic development incentives. Instead, the State offers a wide variety of financial incentives that reduce specific State or local tax burdens for businesses. This creates an uncertain tax environment for Illinois companies and leaves the State vulnerable to pressure from businesses located here and to competition…
An effort to clear Illinois’ Medicaid program of ineligible enrollees has led to the removal of 128,700 participants, but State savings are expected to be far lower than hoped by lawmakers, according to testimony at a legislative hearing on September 17, 2013. The State has moved to cancel 75,707 Medicaid cases as of September 9, officials of the State’s main Medicaid agency said at the joint…
In recent years, the State of Illinois’ financial woes had been complicated by a massive backlog of unpaid income tax refunds. When the backlog was paid off by the end of FY2013, the State reaped a surplus of diverted funds that will boost revenues by $397 million in FY2014. Income tax revenues are diverted to the Income Tax Refund Fund to pay tax refunds owed to individuals and businesses. The…
Several recently enacted laws are designed to increase public access to information about the State of Illinois’ budget and improve other aspects of the State’s budget process. The following table lists budget-related legislation signed by Governor Pat Quinn since the end of the General Assembly’s spring session on May 31, 2013. Public Act 98-0461, signed on August 16, requires the Governor’s…
To support construction projects during the busy summer months, the State of Illinois issued $2.0 billion of capital purpose debt, which for the most part will be repaid from the State’s Capital Projects Fund. The Fund was created to receive the revenues from a package of new taxes and fees that was passed in FY2010 to fund the $31-billion Illinois Jobs Now! capital program. As previously…
