Facing a multi-billion dollar mountain of unpaid bills and declining revenues, Governor Pat Quinn has proposed a new short-term borrowing plan for the State of Illinois that has encountered opposition from the Comptroller’s Office. As previously reported in this blog, the Governor in late October announced his intention to borrow $900 million to help catch up on payments to state vendors and…
The Civic Federation commends the Cook County Board for voting 12-5 to roll back half of last year’s one percentage point sales tax hike and for overriding President Todd Stroger’s veto. The Federation considers this a victory for overburdened County taxpayers and for the County businesses that have suffered as a result of the tax. The Civic Federation has long opposed the unnecessary…
For anyone who missed a last ride on the tilt-a-whirl when Kiddieland closed last month, a quick review of our state’s fiscal situation can provide a similar type of stomach-churning, gravity-defying—though rather less pleasurable—experience. As Illinoisans endure the second year of a historic recession, Illinois government has no budget, no plan, a half-year’s worth of unpaid bills and sky-high…
Tax revenues that states depend on to fund operations continue to decrease, dropping at least $119.7 billion nationwide in the most recent fiscal quarter. A study released by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government on November 23, 2009 also shows that Illinois continues to be one of the hardest hit by revenue losses during the current recession. Illinois was one of only ten states that…
The Civic Federation is teaming up with the Motorola Foundation to present the 18th Annual Excellence in Public Service Award next month. After reviewing nominations for some of the best and brightest public servants throughout Illinois, the award advisory committee selected Judy Erwin, Executive Director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, as the 2009 honoree. Ms. Erwin has dedicated…
While politicians, unions and other supporters of Howe Developmental Center fight to keep it open, a new report from the U.S. Justice Department has raised more questions about Howe’s viability. The report is the result of a federal investigation that began in 2007 under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act. The Justice Department found that Howe failed to protect its residents from…
The State of Illinois’ inadequate funding of its employee retirement systems has already contributed to downgrades in the State’s credit ratings and will continue to affect rating decisions for many years, according to a new report by Moody’s Investors Service. The report comes as Illinois’ Pension System Modernization Task Force is preparing to issue recommendations to the General Assembly to…
Governor Pat Quinn plans to borrow an additional $900 million to keep the State of Illinois afloat, marking the third time since May of 2009 that the State has used short-term borrowing to offset revenue shortfalls. The Governor said last week that he will use $205 million of the total $900 million to fund scholarships for low-income students under the Monetary Award Program (MAP). The General…
The State of Illinois’ fiscal crisis has had a major impact on the State’s employee health insurance plan, delaying payments on employee medical bills paid by the State for roughly seven months and causing the State to delay paying premiums to managed care companies for three and a half months. It is taking an average of 209 days for the State’s self-insured health plan to pay its bills,…
The State of Illinois’ personal income tax revenue for FY2010 is now expected to be $850 million lower than projected when the budget was approved in July 2009, according to David Vaught, the newly appointed Director of the Government’s Office of Management and Budget. The latest estimate of approximately $9.4 billion is down roughly 8% from the $10.2 billion projection used to develop the budget…
