An important first step in preparing a government budget is the preparation and publication of revenue estimates for the upcoming fiscal year. The estimates provide the basis for the spending decisions that are subsequently incorporated into the budget. Under Illinois law, the Governor begins the budget process by proposing a budget based on a revenue estimate for the coming fiscal year and the…
Despite historically low interest rates, bonds recently sold by the State of Illinois continue to cost much more than debt issued by other states. Even when compared to similarly low-rated California bonds, the $450 million of tax-exempt bonds sold by Illinois appear to have cost the State at least $20.6 million more than what California might have paid for the same borrowing. On April 2, 2013,…
Faced with rising pension costs and modest revenue growth, Governor Pat Quinn has recommended a reduction in State of Illinois funding for local governments and statewide public transportation. In his FY2014 budget, the Governor proposed capping those distributions at FY2012 levels. Savings to the State are estimated at $143 million, according to State bond documents. The savings estimate is…
The State of Illinois has asked the federal government to extend Cook County’s Medicaid expansion plan to ensure that recipients remain covered after the end of 2013. In a letter on March 21, 2013, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) told federal authorities that it still expects the State to pass legislation allowing Illinois to expand its entire Medicaid program…
On March 21, 2013, the Illinois House passed a bill that would significantly reduce the State’s pension costs by limiting automatic annual benefit increases for retirees and employees. House Bill 1165, approved by a vote of 66 to 50, addresses the largest single factor driving the State’s pension costs. Current retirees and employees hired before January 1, 2011 receive annual compounded…
On March 20, 2013, the Illinois Senate rejected a proposal designed to significantly reduce the State's burdensome pension costs but approved a narrower measure that applies only to active teachers outside of the City of Chicago. Senate Bill 35 was defeated by a vote of 23 to 30. The bill, sponsored by Senator Daniel Biss, is the Senate version of House Bill 3411, a measure sponsored by…
Governor Pat Quinn has proposed eliminating several corporate tax incentives to help pay down the State’s backlog of unpaid bills that is expected to total $7.5 billion at the end of the current fiscal year. The Governor’s proposal would eliminate three rules that allow corporations to reduce tax liabilities and would increase State corporate income tax revenues by an estimated $445 million…
On March 6, 2013, Governor Pat Quinn issued his recommended budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2013. However, the first major obstacle to the Governor’s proposed FY2014 budget emerged a day earlier, when the Illinois House approved a revenue projection that was significantly below the Governor’s revenue number. The Governor’s budget recommendation is based on projected FY2014…
A bipartisan group of Illinois lawmakers has signed onto a new pension reform proposal designed to reduce the State’s massive pension costs. House Bill 3411, co-sponsored by 20 Republican legislators and 11 Democrats, was introduced in the Illinois House on February 26, 2013. Senate Bill 35 was amended a day later to mirror HB3411. HB3411 includes many of the changes proposed in House Bill 6258…
Prior to the release of the Governor’s annual budget recommendation, the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation releases an analysis of the State of Illinois’ fiscal condition. The FY2014 Roadmap includes a review of Governor Quinn’s three-year budget plan, a rough five-year budget projection for FY2014 to FY2018 and recommendations for the Governor and General…
