Legislative action on reducing the State of Illinois’ massive pension obligations could come as soon as next week, but the details of the latest pension reform proposal and its potential impact on the State’s financial condition have not yet been made public. On November 25, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s staff reportedly notified House members that they will be back in session on December 3, 2013. The Senate has not yet set a return date. The Illinois General Assembly has been in…
The State of Illinois plans to apply for a sweeping federal waiver to overhaul its Medicaid program, according to a draft concept paper issued on November 7, 2013. The waiver proposal, called Path to Transformation, covers all of the State’s Medicaid spending and all of the populations that are currently eligible or may be eligible under the federal Affordable Care Act. It would allow Illinois to test new approaches that do not conform to federal program rules and to receive federal funding to…
The State of Illinois will need to contribute somewhat more to its five retirement systems in FY2015, but the growth will be less than previously projected due mainly to strong investment returns. Pension contributions required by State law will increase by $103.5 million, or 1.5%, to $6.9 billion in FY2015 from $6.8 billion in FY2014, according to preliminary certifications by the five systems. A year ago, the FY2015 contributions were projected to increase by $282.4 million to $7.0 billion…
The health insurance programs for the State of Illinois’ retired public school teachers outside of Chicago and downstate community college employees face mounting backlogs of unpaid claims as costs continue to outpace revenues, according to a recent report. The report, by the legislature’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, (COGFA) examines the financial condition of the Teachers’ Retirement Insurance Program (TRIP) and the College Insurance Program (CIP). As required by…
According to the latest legislative report on gaming in Illinois, total casino revenues have recovered since the opening of the State’s tenth riverboat casino in 2012 after several years of decline. However, State tax revenues from casino gaming remain stagnant despite the improvement. The annual report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) on wagering revenues and the corresponding taxes generated in Illinois was published earlier this month and includes…
As part of its ongoing analysis of State and local government budgets, the Civic Federation also reviews proposed capital budgets along with any planning documents provided in support of infrastructure investments. Although many governments approve new and reappropriated capital spending on an annual basis, few public entities in Illinois have based these expenditures on comprehensive capital improvement plans (CIPs). Unlike the operating budgets, which mostly require that all appropriated…
Aided by an unexpected surge in income tax collections in April 2013, the State of Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills is projected to decline to roughly $5.8 billion at the end of FY2014. As shown in the table below and discussed in a new report by the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability, that would represent a decrease of nearly $3.0 billion from an estimated $8.8 billion at the end of FY2012. Despite the improvement, General Funds payables and other liabilities are…
This analysis of the State of Illinois’ Fiscal Year 2014 Enacted Budget finds that the budget may represent a high-water mark, with future years bringing sharp reductions in revenues and further consequences of the unresolved pension crisis. Although the State reduced the backlog of unpaid bills to $5.8 billion, that progress is threatened by legislative failure to prepare for extreme financial challenges on the immediate horizon. Pension costs in FY2014 total $7.65 billion, including annual…
The State of Illinois does not currently have a comprehensive policy on economic development incentives. Instead, the State offers a wide variety of financial incentives that reduce specific State or local tax burdens for businesses. This creates an uncertain tax environment for Illinois companies and leaves the State vulnerable to pressure from businesses located here and to competition from other states trying to entice firms to leave Illinois. During the fall 2011 veto session, this…
An effort to clear Illinois’ Medicaid program of ineligible enrollees has led to the removal of 128,700 participants, but State savings are expected to be far lower than hoped by lawmakers, according to testimony at a legislative hearing on September 17, 2013. The State has moved to cancel 75,707 Medicaid cases as of September 9, officials of the State’s main Medicaid agency said at the joint hearing of the Illinois General Assembly’s House Human Services Appropriations and Senate…
