Two of the three major rating agencies have cut the State of Illinois’ bond ratings due to its ongoing budget crisis and worsening financial condition. These downgrades make Illinois the only state credit currently rated below the ‘A’ category and signal a weakened capacity for the government to meet its financial obligations. Both downgrades come on the heels of the announcement by the State…
With Illinois operating without a budget for more than three months, concerns have arisen about whether the State is going to run out of money. The simple answer is no—at least not in the way that running out of money is typically understood. Despite the lack of a budget since fiscal year 2016 began on July 1, 2015, money is still going into the State’s checking accounts. However, this revenue…
This article reviews a report released by the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs on the funding gap facing Illinois’ infrastructure. It cites an August blog post by the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability which discusses lower-than-projected revenues from the Illinois Jobs Now! program that funds the State’s capital budget. The Civic…
The State of Illinois is often cited for its unique financial challenges. However, at least in one respect, Illinois does not stand alone in its financial difficulties. Illinois is one of four states that began the fiscal year without an enacted budget and is one of three still struggling to produce a spending plan in the third month of the fiscal year. As discussed here, although Governor Bruce…
This op-ed by State Representative Barbara Flynn Currie urges the Illinois General Assembly to adopt a budgeting approach that balances spending reductions with new revenues. It discusses several recommendations from the Civic Federation’s FY2016 State of Illinois Budget Roadmap released in February, including expanding the sales tax to certain services and implementing stronger spending controls.
This column covers Illinois’ current budget stalemate and the programs and bills that can continue to be paid for without a formal operating budget, meaning the State is spending at FY2015 levels although its revenue has dropped. The Civic Federation said the longer this spending goes on, the more painful the legislature’s remaining budget options become.
Even without an annual operating budget, the State of Illinois has already spent billions of dollars for the fiscal year that began on July 1, 2015. What remains unclear is how much the State is obligated to pay out for the entire year and how that compares with estimated FY2016 revenues. The State is obligated to make numerous FY2016 payments due to continuing appropriations and court orders.…
This article covers the budget impasse facing the State of Illinois and how it is contributing to a growing deficit as the State continues to spend without clear parameters. A Civic Federation analysis found savings in Governor Rauner’s proposed FY2016 budget unachievable and said the eventual budget solution will require an increase in taxes, cuts to spending, or likely both.
Although the State of Illinois in entering the second month of its new fiscal year without an operating budget, the Governor and General Assembly have agreed on a capital construction budget for fiscal year 2016. Governor Bruce Rauner issued several line item vetoes to the capital appropriations bill, which primarily reauthorized ongoing spending from the Illinois Jobs Now! program that…
More than three weeks into fiscal year 2016, the State of Illinois continues to operate without an annual budget. Despite the lack of a budget, members of the General Assembly are reportedly in line to get pay raises of about 2%, or at least $1,300 each, for the year that began on July 1, 2015. The reasons are complicated and relate to prior legal disputes between Illinois governors and the…
