On March 26, 2014, Governor Pat Quinn presented an FY2015 budget proposal for the State of Illinois that avoids a fiscal cliff by retaining temporary income tax increases that were scheduled to be phased out beginning in January 2015. The Governor’s recommended budget also significantly increases the property tax credit for homeowners on State income taxes. In order to balance the budget and pay…
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 billion in unpaid bills at the end of FY2014 and will see a loss of $1.6 billion in General Funds revenues in FY2015, due to the reduced income tax rates that…
In its recently released FY2015 budget roadmap report, the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation recommended that the State of Illinois publish a five-year financial plan and that the plan be updated annually. This recommendation follows a best practice of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), which urges every government to use long-term financial…
In a report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability proposes a comprehensive plan for achieving long-term fiscal sustainability for the State of Illinois. The five-year plan would fully pay down the State’s $5.4 billion backlog of unpaid bills while gradually reducing income tax rates by 20%, broadening the tax base and building a reserve fund as…
Prior to the release of the Governor’s annual budget recommendation, the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability at the Civic Federation releases an analysis of the State of Illinois’ fiscal condition. The report reviews Governor Quinn’s three-year budget projection and proposes a comprehensive five-year plan for achieving long-term fiscal sustainability for the State of Illinois. The Civic…
The Illinois House of Representatives has approved a revenue projection for the coming fiscal year that includes a $2.2 billion loss in operating resources for FY2015, after a holding series of committee meetings to deliberate varying estimates. The General Funds revenue estimate totaling $34.5 billion was unanimously approved on February 25, 2014 in House Joint Resolution 80. The revenue…
It is widely known that the State of Illinois faces a dramatic reduction in general operating revenue starting on January 1, 2015, when temporary income tax rate increases enacted in 2011 are scheduled to partially roll back. General Funds income tax receipts will also decline around the same time for another reason: beginning on February 1, 2015, a portion of individual income tax collections…
At a recent committee hearing, Illinois lawmakers were provided with a mixed message regarding the economy and State budget for the coming fiscal year. Officials from the Illinois Department of Revenue explained that although the State could expect improved underlying economic growth in the next two years, operating resources would still plummet in the next year due to current tax policy. Many…
Despite savings from recently enacted pension reforms, the State of Illinois’ finances could still worsen considerably after income tax increases are partially phased out as scheduled beginning in 2015, according to a report by Governor Pat Quinn’s office. The three-year general operating budget projection by the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) and an accompanying economic and…
The following posts were among the most highly read on the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability’s blog in 2013 and represent some of the most closely followed Illinois fiscal issues this year: Analysis of Pension Reform Proposal Shows Significant State Savings January 3, 2013 This blog examines a pension reform proposal introduced in the Illinois General Assembly late in 2012 by a…
