This article follows a debate in the suburban community of Niles over whether to allow video gaming within city limits. The Civic Federation says that it opposes video gaming because it is an unreliable source of revenue for governments.
State of Illinois officials want to tighten procedures for Medicaid by using electronic data to verify eligibility—a step also viewed as crucial to deal with the surge in Medicaid enrollment expected under federal healthcare reform. On November 29, 2010, Julie Hamos, Director of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), told a committee of the Illinois Senate that HFS needs to cross…
The operating budget enacted by the State of Illinois for FY2011 is based on General Funds revenues projected to be slightly higher than last year’s, and so far actual monthly revenues appear to be on target to meet or exceed these expectations. This increase signals the State’s hope that FY2011 will be a transition year for economically sensitive revenues such as income taxes and sales taxes…
A new report by the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability (IIFS) shows why the State of Illinois is struggling to make its roughly $4 billion pension contribution in FY2011. The report reviews the State’s $53.5 billion operating budget for the current fiscal year, which began on July 1, 2010 and ends on June 30, 2011. The report focuses on the $25.8 billion…
(CHICAGO) The Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability released a plain-English summary of the State of Illinois’ FY2011 enacted budget today. The 26-page report is available on our website, www.civicfed.org. “After months of hearing about changes to spending and borrowing plans, the people of Illinois are understandably confused about the State budget,” said Laurence…
This report examines the State of Illinois’ $53.5 billion operating budget for Fiscal Year 2011, which began on July 1, 2010 and ends on June 30, 2011. The report focuses on the $25.8 billion General Funds budget, the largest component of the total operating budget. It is designed to provide Illinois residents with a resource to understand expenditure and revenue trends at the State of Illinois.…
This article compares the different statements made by think tank organizations about the extent of Illinois’ fiscal issues. The Civic Federation says that while State employees are not overpaid, they do receive very generous retirement benefits.
This news segment discusses the proposal by the owner of the Chicago Cubs to fix Wrigley Field using funds from a State of Illinois bond issuance. Civic Federation President Laurence Msall says it’s too early to tell if the plan will be a good one for taxpayers.
The layoff of police officers in suburban Chicago communities is the focus of this article. The Civic Federation says that the current economic climate and the State of Illinois’ fiscal issues have forced municipalities to make the hard decision to make public safety cuts to balance their budgets.
This article about the State of Illinois’ possible plans to borrow to make its required pension contribution cites a Civic Federation blog post “New Pension Borrowing Could Stress State Budget Through 2019.”
