Government Budgets

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State Pays Down Backlog of Bills

Due to a surge in income tax receipts, the Illinois Comptroller’s Office has been able to reduce the State’s backlog of unpaid bills by $3.8 billion in the last four months. General Funds bills and other payables…

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State Lawmakers Move Closer to Legalizing Internet Gambling

This segment discusses an internet gambling proposal sponsored by Senate President John Cullerton. The Civic Federation maintains its…

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An independent set of eyes

This editorial supports a proposal by Alderman Ameya Pawar to create an independent budget office for the…

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Watchdog group says state must address pensions

This article discusses the State of Illinois FY2014 Recommended Budget Analysis released May 13 by the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation. The analysis…

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Illinois Budget Gets Watchdog Group's Endorsement

(The full content of this article is only available to the publication’s subscribers.) This article discusses the State of Illinois FY2014 Recommended Budget Analysis released May 13 by…

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State of Illinois FY2014 Recommended Operating and Capital Budgets: Analysis and Recommendations

The Civic Federation supports Governor Pat Quinn’s $62.4 billion FY2014 recommended operating budget for balancing revenues and expenditures without borrowing and making progress toward reducing the State’s backlog of unpaid bills. However…

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Civic Federation Supports Governor's Budget Proposal as a Stopgap Until Passage of Compresensive Pension Reform

State's pension costs to consume nearly 25% of State-source revenues in FY2014 (CHICAGO) – In a new report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability supports Governor Quinn’s proposed budget for…

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Illinois’ multi-billion dollar bill backlog goes back a decade

This article examines the accumulation of Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills in the past decade, from nearly $1.2 billion in FY2002 to $9.0 billion in FY2012 to its current level of $5.6 billion reported by the State Comptroller on April 29…

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Chicago Public Schools raises questions with $162 million capital budget

This article discusses Chicago Public Schools’ proposed $162 million capital budget for FY2014. The Civic Federation is concerned that the District is expanding its borrowing without a clear plan for addressing its projected deficit of $1…

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Cook County STAR Report Shows Savings for FY2012

This blog reviews the 2012 4th Quarter STAR (Set Targets Achieve Results) report for Cook County’s…