Two months after the start of the State of Illinois’ 2012 fiscal year on July 1, 2011, Governor Pat Quinn has proposed the closure of seven state facilities and the layoff of more than 1,900 employees in order to cope with a funding…
New rulings by the Illinois Department of Revenue have reignited a debate over whether the State’s non-profit hospitals provide adequate charity care to patients in exchange for their property-tax exemptions. On August 16, 2011 the…
After twice rejecting the plan, a State of Illinois board voted on August 16, 2011 to allow Cook County to close Oak Forest Hospital. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board approved the proposal by a vote of 7 to 1, with…
A recent mid-year report issued by Cook County provides more details on…
Governor Pat Quinn signed the State of Illinois’ FY2012 budget on June 30, 2011, a day before the start of the new fiscal year. The FY2012 budget is expected to generate a mountain of unpaid Medicaid bills and a possible court battle over…
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago recently co-hosted a conference featuring analysis and discussion among local and national budget experts to better understand the fiscal condition of states and prospects for economic recovery after…
Since Cook County passed its FY2011 budget in February 2011, it has been evident that the County’s public health system would face major hurdles…
The Illinois General Assembly reconvened on June 22, 2011 for an extra day of the spring session to sort out several issues that were not addressed three weeks ago when the legislature adjourned after approving a $33.2 billion budget. Both…
In this article about how parents of disabled children are moving out of Illinois due to uncertainty about the State’s funding of social service programs, the Civic Federation says that payment uncertainty on the part of social service…
Surprising as it may seem, not all budget cuts reduce spending. A case in point is the FY2012 Medicaid budget passed by the Illinois House on May 13, 2011.…
