The Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation today released its annual Roadmap, with recommendations to restore fiscal balance to Illinois. Illinois has gone more than 19 months without a full-year, comprehensive budget. This prolonged delay— unprecedented in recent history—is the result of a political struggle between Democratic legislators who control the General…
(CHICAGO) – In a report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability proposes a comprehensive five-year plan that addresses the State’s ongoing financial crisis and budget impasse with painful but necessary spending limits and revenue enhancements. The full 57-page report is available here. While Illinois has gone more than 19 months without a…
Click here to read the full report. 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. This report presents the Civic Federation’s multi-year plan to stabilize Illinois’ finances and addresses the State’s critical financial situation.…
This article discusses Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s motion to stop State of Illinois workers from being paid in the absence of a State budget. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall remarks that Illinois’ constitution is clear in stating that the State cannot pay its workers without an appropriation.
This article discusses a proposed borrowing plan that could help pay down the State of Illinois’ record pile of unpaid bills and references a recent Civic Federation blog post that debates whether or not it’s fiscally responsible for Illinois to borrow to reduce its bill backlog.
This article examines the growing amount of interest penalties the State of Illinois is accumulating due to the State’s inability to pay down its bill backlog. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall comments that Illinois has become addicted to the bad habit of incurring interest penalties from not paying its bills. Click here for addtional coverage from the Associated Press.
In this segment, Civic Federation President Laurence Msall joined a Chicago Tonight panel to discuss Governor Rauner’s recent State of the State address and Illinois’ continued fiscal issues.
After nearly 19 months without a budget, Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills currently stands at over $10.9 billion [1]. Without a comprehensive plan to restore fiscal balance, the backlog will only continue to grow. However, even if balance is restored in fiscal year 2018, the backlog accumulated to date presents a challenge to the State and an ongoing burden on its finances. As…
The following letter to the editor was published the week of January 8, 2017. January 1 marked the beginning of the 19th month in which Illinois has operated without a comprehensive, balanced budget. To be clear, recently expired “stopgap” measures should not be considered a budget, because they did not limit the state’s known spending obligations with available revenue for any period of…
This article discusses the negative impact a repeal to the Affordable Care Act could have on hospital systems and local and state governments across the country. The article references the Civic Federation’s analysis of Cook County‘s FY2017 budget that says the Affordable Care Act dramatically improved the Cook County Health and Hospital System’s finances by providing Medicaid coverage for…
