-
Headlines
Needy States Use Housing Aid Cash to Plug Budgets
Only 27 states have devoted all their funds from the banks to housing programs, according to a report by Enterprise Community Partners, a national affordable housing group. So far about 15 states have said they will use all or most of the money for other purposes.
-
Headlines : Illinois
Unions gear up to oppose state pension changes
Union officials say they have grown weary of Quinn's efforts to rally business leaders behind his ideas and his use of agency directors and state government resources to argue that basic state government functions will suffer unless something is done about pensions.
-
Headlines
Census state pension survey 2007-1010
The U.S. Census collects key data from selected state and municipal pension funds every year. State Budget Solutions consolidated the data for the 222 largest state administered defined benefit pension funds from fiscal years 2007 through 2010 to present an overview of each state's pension funds. See how your state is doing.
-
Headlines
Latest studies show growing pension peril
Recent studies by the U.S. Census Bureau, GAO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Harvard Kennedy School detail the continued deterioration and chance of failure of public pension systems within the overall local and state government fiscal crisis. Read these studies and be aware of the extent of this pressing problem.
-
Headlines
Local and state governments look for creative ways to fund transportation projects
Constrained budgets and deficit reduction efforts mean federal fewer dollars for infrastructure. As such, the burden is shifting more to state and local governments, which are being forced to find creative funding solutions.
- View All News Stories
Budget timeline: Annual
Fiscal Year starts: July 1
Gov. Pat Quinn
State Capitol
207 Statehouse
Springfield, IL 62706
Phone: (217) 782-6830
Fax: (217) 524-4049
http://www.illinois.gov/gov/
Jerry Stermer, Acting Director
Bureau of the Budget
603 Stratton Building
Springfield, IL 62706
Phone (217) 782-4520
Fax: (217) 524-4876
www.state.il.us/budget/
BureauBudget.OMB@illinois.gov
2012 Legislative Calendar: Regular Session convenes January 11, meets throughout the year.
Legislative Budget Leaders:
Rep. Fred Crespo (D), Chair, House General Services Appropriations Committee, (217) 782-0347
Rep. Al Riley (D), Vice-Chair, House General Services Appropriations Committee, rep.riley38@sbcglobal.net (217) 558-1007
Sen. Heather A. Steans (D), Chair, Senate Appropriations I Committee, (217) 782-8492
Sen. Dan Kotowski (D), Vice-Chair, Senate Appropriations I Committee, (217) 782-3875
Rep. John E. Bradley (D), Chair, House Revenue & Finance Committee, repjohnbradley@mychoice.net (217) 782-1051
Rep. Arthur Turner (D), Vice-Chair, House Revenue & Finance Committee, (217) 782-8116
Sen. Toi W. Hutchinson (D), Chair, Senate Revenue Committee, (217) 782-7419
Sen. James T. Meeks (D), Vice-Chair, Senate Revenue Committee, (217) 782-8066
Sen. Kwame Raoul (D), Chair, Pensions and Investments Committee, (217) 782-5338
Sen. Iris Y. Martinez (D), Vice-Chair, Pensions and Investments Committee, (217) 782-8191
The current state budget can be found here.
Illinois is required to pass a "balanced budget." Article VIII, Section 2 of the 1970 Constitution requires the general assembly to make appropriations for all expenditures of public funds, with appropriations for a fiscal year not exceeding funds estimated by the general assembly to be available for that fiscal year. Illinois law does not forbid the carrying over of a deficit from one year to the next.
Illinois has capped spending when expenditures exceed revenues the previous year. If the budget falls short on revenue by 4% or more, than the next year's budget can only spend 99% of the estimated revenue. If it is 4% short 2 years in a row, the cap is set at 98%. Despite these balanced budget requirements Illinois report more than $4 billion deficits (negative net transactions) for each of the three years studied.
There are no statutory requirements that govern what kinds of assumptions can be made about revenue or expenses. Therefore the Illinois budget is "unbalanced" in different ways in different years. [from the Institute for Truth in Accounting]
Citizens can can find data regarding the state's payroll, pension and expenditures directly from official government sources, as well as a spending blog, at IllinoisOpenGov.org.
Find the state's bond ratings here.
|
|
The Illinois Policy Institute's Budget Solutions 2011 can be found here.
|
Pensions :
-
HEADLINES: Illinois
Unions gear up to oppose state pension changes
Union officials say they have grown weary of Quinn's efforts to rally business leaders behind his ideas and his use of agency directors and state government resources to argue that basic state government functions will suffer unless something is done about pensions.
-
HEADLINES
Census state pension survey 2007-1010
The U.S. Census collects key data from selected state and municipal pension funds every year. State Budget Solutions consolidated the data for the 222 largest state administered defined benefit pension funds from fiscal years 2007 through 2010 to present an overview of each state's pension funds. See how your state is doing.
- View All Illinois articles
State Debt :
-
HEADLINES: Illinois
Illinois Lawmakers Pressured for CME Tax Breaks After Increase
Lawmakers in Illinois cann bow to pressure from businesses, cut their tax load and deepen the state's $8 billion budget hole by an additional $325 million. Or they can run the risk that the operator of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, and Sears Holdings Corp. will flee the state.
-
HEADLINES: Illinois
Illinois lawmakers punt on pensions as $85B liability grows
It's unlikely lawmakers will address the problem in the one-day session they have scheduled for Nov. 29, meaning they have no way to address it again for six more months, until they reconvene in the spring.
- View All Illinois articles
Revenue :
-
HEADLINES: Illinois
Lawmakers skeptical of Quinn Medicaid cuts, $1 tax on cigarette packs
Gov. Pat Quinn challenged lawmakers to approve a $1-a-pack increase in the cigarette tax and accept major cuts in Medicaid, but many Democrats and Republicans view the plan as more a work in progress than a final deal.
-
HEADLINES: Illinois
More State Layoffs in Illinois?
The Quinn administration released a budget outlook that shows most state operations should expect a 9 percent reduction, which the governor says is needed to help the state pay pension and Medicaid costs which have been on the rise.
- View All Illinois articles
-
Solutions: Illinois, California, Texas
Amazonian-Size Taxes
Proposals to tax Internet retail sales are all the rage as states continue to look for more ways to balance their budgets in the face of revenue shortfalls.
-
Solutions: Illinois
Budget Solutions 2012
To reestablish Illinois as an economic powerhouse, the Institute has proposed "Budget Solutions 2012," an alternative that does not rely on the state's recent tax hikes as a revenue source, does not include borrowing and has positive cash flow for fiscal year 2012 - all while funding core services the poor and disadvantaged rely upon.
-
Solutions: Illinois, Indiana, Virginia, California, Louisiana, Colorado
What Works: Fixing State Budgets
Paper suggesting a variety of ways to fixing state budgets in crisis, including freezing or slowing public employee salary growth, privatizing infrastructure and state operations, eliminating prevailing wage and placing constitutional limits on taxing and spending.
-
Solutions: Illinois
Budget Solutions 2011: A New Way Forward
A detailed, comprehensive alternative budgeting plan addressing Illinois' immediate financial problems focused on three key elements: spending reallignment, right-sizing government labor costs and pension fund reform.
-
Illinois
Unions gear up to oppose state pension changes
Union officials say they have grown weary of Quinn's efforts to rally business leaders behind his ideas and his use of agency directors and state government resources to argue that basic state government functions will suffer unless something is done about pensions.
-
Census state pension survey 2007-1010
The U.S. Census collects key data from selected state and municipal pension funds every year. State Budget Solutions consolidated the data for the 222 largest state administered defined benefit pension funds from fiscal years 2007 through 2010 to present an overview of each state's pension funds. See how your state is doing.
-
Latest studies show growing pension peril
Recent studies by the U.S. Census Bureau, GAO, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Harvard Kennedy School detail the continued deterioration and chance of failure of public pension systems within the overall local and state government fiscal crisis. Read these studies and be aware of the extent of this pressing problem.
-
Illinois
Quinn gets bill that would raise insurance costs for retirees
The Illinois State Senate approved legislation that would require retired state workers to pick up more of the costs of their health insurance.
-
Illinois
Mayor takes pension reform case to rank-and-file workers
Mayor Rahm Emanuel took his case for pension reform directly to rank-and-file members whose contributions he wants to raise and whose retirement benefits he's proposing to cut.
- View All Pensions
-
OPINION: Pensions
Public pension 'best practices' omit 1 thing: How do we pay benefits?
Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.
-
OPINION: Pensions
COMMENTARY Municipal, state workers should take their pension money and run, fast
Public employees should take their pension money now and run to avoid risk of getting reduced benefits - or nothing - in the future. It's the best deal for them and for taxpayers. A growing chorus of credible voices including the Government Accountability Office, a Federal Reserve bank and now the Harvard Kennedy School Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government confirm state and local government finances are "spiraling out of control" and even draconian reforms only make it "more likely" that future benefits will paid in full.
-
BLOG: Pensions
COMMENTARY: This plan could save municipal, state workers' pension checks
Hey, young public employees, what are you going to do when your pension checks bounce after you paid in for decades? That is what will happen in many - maybe all - states and municipalities sooner or later if they do not reform right now. If you want to see the future, just look at Illinois. One citizen there did, and came up with a real reform plan that might work.
-
BLOG: Pensions, Federal Government Impact
COMMENTARY: Fed screams softly in warning about public pension crisis
This is what it sounds like when the Federal Reserve Bank screams: "Much has been written about the various headwinds restraining economic activity over the near term. However, our economy also has other headwinds to confront over the medium- to-longer-term. ... the finances of some state and local governments are also under stress and in need of serious adjustments." - Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto
-
BLOG
Rahm Emanuel's Pension Gamble
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel attempts to reform pensions for public employee unions while financially supporting the recall elections against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for enacting similar reforms.
- View All Blog & Opinions
