The Civic Federation supports Governor Pat Quinn’s $57.4 billion FY2013 recommended operating budget, because it acknowledges the depth of the State’s financial problems and would put Illinois finances on the road to recovery with major structural reforms to the State’s Medicaid program and pension systems. The Governor’s proposed FY2013 budget makes several important steps toward Illinois’…
A key component of Governor Pat Quinn’s proposal to close the State of Illinois’ $2.7 billion Medicaid funding gap in FY2013 is an increase in the State’s cigarette tax. The Governor projects that a $1 a pack increase in the cigarette tax, to $1.98, would bring $337.5 million in new revenues to the State to pay for Medicaid expenses. Medicaid spending is reimbursed by the federal government at…
The Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois (TRS) has concluded that it can no longer rely on the State to follow the law for funding its five retirement systems and that sweeping changes are needed to sustain the pension funds. On March 30, 2012, the TRS Board of Trustees approved a resolution stating that “the fiscal situation of the State has deteriorated to the point that the…
In return for watching over District land and serving as a deterrent to crime or misuse, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County rents housing on its property to employees at drastically discounted rates through its Resident Watchmen Program. On October 28, 2011, the District announced plans to strengthen the program by implementing basic requirements for renters and increasing the fee…
The Illinois House has approved a spending plan for FY2013 that would cut the State of Illinois’ expenditures from the level proposed by Governor Pat Quinn and use an additional budget surplus to reduce the State’s backlog of unpaid bills. House Resolution 706, approved on March 29, 2012, calls for spending $32.9 billion from general operating funds in FY2013. That spending level is $858.6…
Evanston voters overwhelmingly approved a non-binding advisory referendum to dissolve Evanston Township in the March 20, 2012 election. Election results show that 66.9% of voters supported the measure while 33.0% opposed it. Legally dissolving the township will require action by the General Assembly. In October 2011, the Evanston City Council voted 5-4 to submit the question of abolition to a…
This Tribune editorial urged advocacy groups to join those calling for reforms to the State of Illinois’ Medicaid program and pension systems because rising costs in these areas are increasingly squeezing out funding for all other State programs. It cited the Civic Federation’s projection that the State’s backlog of unpaid bills could rise from the current $8 billion to nearly $35 billion by…
On March 21, 2012, the Illinois House passed House Bill 3810 with a 79 to 25 vote, a bill that would end the Illinois General Assembly Legislative Scholarship Program as of June 1, 2012. Tuition waivers granted by members on or before June 1, 2012 would still be valid for the full duration of the scholarship. Governor Quinn has repeatedly called for an end to the program. The legislative…
UPDATE: On May 24, 2012 the Illinois General Assembly approved legislation to permit Cook County’s public health system to obtain federal funding for medical services for low-income adults under the Medicaid program. The plan must still be approved by the federal government. House Bill 5007 passed the House by a vote of 62 to 55 and the Senate by a vote of 35 to 22. The Cook County plan required…
At its next meeting, the Committee on Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations of the Cook County Board of Commissioners will consider a resolution requiring the County Assessor, Clerk, Recorder of Deeds, Treasurer and President of the Board of Commissioners to draft an interoffice agreement establishing an Office of Tax Administration. The Civic Federation has historically supported…
