This analysis finds that the State of Illinois' FY2015 enacted budget represents a return to unsustainable fiscal practices including borrowing for operations and underfunding known costs. This spending plan will increase Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills to $6.4 billion at the end of FY2015, the first year-end increase since FY2012. Additionally, the budget fails to fund nearly $500 million in…
Spending Plan Halts Illinois' Recent Fiscal Progress An analysis released today by the Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability finds that the FY2015 budget represents a return to unsustainable fiscal practices including borrowing for operations and underfunding known costs. This spending plan will increase Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills for the first time since FY2012. The full 77-page…
As recently as 2011, the State of Illinois projected its backlog of unpaid income tax refunds could increase to more than $1.0 billion but by the end of FY2014 nearly all refunds were paid. In FY2015, for the second year in a row, the State transferred revenues originally diverted to pay for refunds back into the operating budget. In FY2014 the State ended the year with only $1.6 million in…
A new law that restores certain Medicaid benefits previously cut due to budget pressures also adds a new service: kidney transplants for undocumented Illinois residents. Public Act 98-0651, signed by Governor Pat Quinn on June 16, 2014, authorizes State funding of kidney transplants for low-income non-citizens beginning on October 1. Recipients must have end-stage renal disease and already be…
Businesses do not always pay their bills immediately, and neither do governments. Delays of a month or two are standard practice, although prompt payment is preferable to take advantage of discounts, avoid penalties and maintain access to the largest possible pool of vendors. Since FY2009, long payment delays by the State of Illinois have been a highly visible sign of the State’s financial…
In the coming months, the State of Illinois will conduct a revenue volatility study to establish a basis for an adequate rainy day fund balance to protect the State from future economic downturns and other revenue variances. This analysis of historic changes in State revenues was mandated as part of the budget legislation passed for FY2015 and must be completed by the end of the current calendar…
Despite Illinois’ tight budget for the current fiscal year, the State enacted major Medicaid legislation featuring increased payments to nursing homes and hospitals. Public Act 98-0651 covers 231 pages and was the result of months of negotiations involving legislators, State officials and healthcare providers. The legislation was introduced as an amendment to an existing bill on May 26, 2014—the…
According to recent reports, the State of Illinois’ operating revenues, which are expected to decline this year due to the partial rollback of State income tax rates, exceeded expectations in FY2014, the last full year of the increased income tax rates. Documents published by the State to update bond disclosures include preliminary results for FY2014, which ended on June 30. The new data show…
Less than a month into the new fiscal year, which began on July 1, Standard and Poor’s announced that the financial outlook for the State has deteriorated from “developing” to “negative.” The rating agency directly blamed the FY2015 budget approved by the Governor and General Assembly for the change in perspective. An analyst from S&P stated that the budget was not structurally balanced,…
Despite criticizing the General Assembly for not passing an adequate budget for the new fiscal year, Governor Pat Quinn signed the legislature's appropriations bills into law on June 30, 2014, the last day before the start of FY2015. The Governor vetoed $250 million from the capital budget, but the change will not affect the State’s operating expenditures. As discussed here, the FY2015 General…
