UPDATE: The $900 billion relief bill passed by Congress on December 21 did not provide more financial assistance for state and local governments, but it did extend for about one year the deadline for using the Coronavirus Relief Fund money discussed in this blog post. The spending deadline is now December 31, 2021 instead of December 30, 2020. State and local governments had been racing to…
Illinois has lost less tax revenue than expected this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the State still faces a significant budget gap, according to the latest official projection. The Governor’s annual economic and fiscal policy report, issued on November 13, raised the projection for the current year’s general operating revenues by $2.2 billion from the July forecast. However, even with…
Earlier in 2020 the Civic Federation released a series of three blog posts discussing various aspects of the proposal to amend the Illinois Constitution to allow a graduated income tax and the proposed rate structure. Those posts have been among the most viewed in the history of civicfed.org, clearly responding to a need for independent and dependable information on the proposal. The Federation…
Click here to read the full issue brief. Click here to read a press release for this issue brief. SUMMARY More than 50 years after Illinois began taxing residents’ income, voters on November 3, 2020 will decide whether the structure of the income tax should undergo a major change. The issue is highly controversial, and the decision will have a long-lasting impact on the State’s finances and…
The State of Illinois’ FY2020 fourth quarter revenue report contained a surprising result for two of the State of Illinois’ three main revenue sources, which came in higher than had been projected during the spring. Specifically, net sales tax revenue collections were $252 million higher than revised projections and net personal income tax projections were $372 million higher.[1] Given the…
The General Assembly enacted an approximately $49.2 billion capital budget on May 24, 2020.[1] Spending proposed in the capital budget includes funding from the State, grants from the federal government and local matching funds. The multi-year capital budget was initially approved in 2019 as the Build Illinois capital plan; this action provides annual appropriation authority for capital project…
As state and local governments continue to press Congress for more pandemic recovery funds, disputes are springing up across the country about the disbursement of federal aid that is currently available. A controversy in Illinois has centered on the use of federal relief funds that the State is distributing to counties and municipalities. Local governments in Illinois are eligible to receive a…
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on state budgets, with tax revenue shortfalls estimated to total about $200 billion for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 compared with initial projections.[1] What actions are states taking to deal with these financial losses? Illinois’ FY2021 budget relies on borrowing to close a $6.6 billion deficit. However, Governor J.B. Pritzker hopes to avoid…
Since the federal government provided $139 billion of coronavirus relief funds to states and large cities and counties in April, smaller localities have been waiting to receive some of the money. Now large governments, including Cook County, are taking steps to share the funds. On July 8, Illinois’ biggest county announced plans to distribute about $51 million to local governments beginning as…
Since the Civic Federation published a blog on short-term debt in Illinois on May 22, 2020, there have been two significant updates to report. Illinois Issues $1.2 Billion in Short Term Debt via the Federal Reserve’s Municipal Liquidity Facility As noted in a recent Civic Federation blog on the Illinois State budget, the State plans to rely on short-term cash flow borrowing from the Federal…
