Next week Governor Pat Quinn will give his sixth budget address since taking office in 2009. The budget is expected to be one of the most difficult of his tenure considering that the State is currently expected to have approximately $5.4…
Unlike the federal government, the State of Illinois exempts all retirement income from the individual income tax. Of the 41 states that impose an income tax, Illinois is one of only three that exempt all pension income and one of 27 that…
This article reviews the findings of Illinois’ Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for fiscal year 2013, which shows Illinois is still in the worst financial shape of the 50 states, but it’s rate of deterioration has slowed. The Civic…
This article discusses an $883 million bond sale by the City of Chicago that will largely be used for debt refinancing and short-term expenses. The Civic Federation said a well-managed government would not be issuing debt to pay for its…
This article discusses Illinois’ March 11 sale of taxable revenue-backed bonds in the context of the State’s temporary income tax increase scheduled to rollback in January 2015. It cites the Civic Federation’s recommendation to gradually…
This editorial highlights the recommendations in the Civic Federation’s State of Illinois FY2015 Budget Roadmap and calls the Federation’s plan a thoughtful, comprehensive…
This editorial examines the Civic Federation’s State of Illinois FY2015 Budget Roadmap and calls the Federation’s plan a “reasonable and balanced approach” to addressing…
This article focuses on the Civic Federation’s recommendation for Illinois to include federally taxable amounts of retirement income in its income tax base. Of the 41 states that impose an income tax, Illinois is one of only three that…
In its recently released FY2015 budget roadmap report, the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation recommended that the…
