State of Illinois

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Illinois Clears Backlog of Income Tax Refunds and Reaps Surpluses

As recently as 2011, the State of Illinois projected its backlog of unpaid income tax refunds could increase to more than $1.0 billion but by the end of…

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Illinois to Fund Kidney Transplants for Undocumented Residents

A new law that restores certain Medicaid benefits previously cut due to budget pressures also adds a new service: kidney transplants for undocumented Illinois residents.…

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Social Impact Funding through Pay for Success Contracts in Illinois

Despite its name, a social impact bond (SIB) is not a debt instrument and does not require a government to issue debt. Rather, an SIB is a social impact financing arrangement whereby funds are raised from private sector investors to…

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Help Us Honor Illinois’ Non-Elected Public Servants

The Civic Federation and the Motorola Solutions Foundation issued a call for nominations this week for the 23rd Annual Motorola Solutions Foundation Excellence in Public Service Award. The award seeks to honor individuals whose exemplary…

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Illinois Bond Disclosures Show Risk of Pension Borrowing

Information included in recent bond disclosures by the State of Illinois indicate that the pension obligation bonds (POBs) sold in 2003 primarily to boost the retirement systems’ assets have earned the minimum investment returns needed to…

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Local Government Consolidation in Illinois: Small Steps in the Right Direction

Some recent progress has been made when it comes to reducing the number of local governments in Illinois. The State of Illinois has 6,963 local governments. To provide context to this issue, the table below displays the type and number of…

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Illinois Should Not Budget for Payment Delays

Businesses do not always pay their bills immediately, and neither do governments. Delays of a month or two are standard practice, although prompt…

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Annexation of Unincorporated Areas in Illinois

Unincorporated areas lie outside municipal boundaries. The residents and businesses located in these areas are usually provided municipal services such as police protection and building code enforcement by county government or special…

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Illinois' Revenues in FY2014 Exceed Expectations

According to recent reports, the State of Illinois’ operating revenues, which are expected to decline this year due to the partial rollback of State income tax rates,…

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Illinois’ Rating Reversed to Negative Due to Unbalanced Budget

Less than a month into the new fiscal year, which began on July 1, Standard and Poor’s announced that the financial outlook for the State has…