Last week the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board of Commissioners held a public study session meeting to discuss its upcoming FY2011 budget and projections for what the financial year may hold. The picture staff painted was grim, with increasing expenses for the District while revenue projections remain flat. The District is projecting that health care expenses will rise by 12% or $6…
Illinois’ increasing cost of borrowing is the focus of this article. The Civic Federation says businesses are reconsidering plans to invest in Illinois because of uncertainty over the State’s long-term tax policies and fiscal health.
On July 14, 2010, Cook County Commissioners approved by a vote of 9 to 3 a strategic plan to reorient the County’s health system more toward outpatient care and away from inpatient hospital services. The five-year plan calls for closing the emergency room and inpatient facilities at Oak Forest Hospital. At Provident Hospital, the emergency room would remain open, but most inpatient beds would be…
Almost immediately after the Illinois General Assembly approved an unbalanced budget for FY2011, two of the three major rating agencies downgraded the state’s debt ratings. It was the fifth time in the last 18 months that Illinois has seen its ratings reduced by Fitch and the third reduction from Moody’s. Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has also reduced the State’s rating three times in the past…
This editorial is about the State of Illinois’ FY2011 enacted budget. It mentions the Civic Federation’s alternative budget recommendations as one of several possible solutions overlooked by legislators.
This editorial discusses recent efforts to reform Illinois’ Medicaid system. It cites a finding in the Civic Federation’s “Fiscal Rehabilitation Plan for the State of Illinois” that enrollment in the system doubled between 1998 and 2008 while the State’s population only increased by 5.1 percent.
This article describes how Illinois' budget crisis is affecting schools, universities and social services across the state. The Civic Federation is quoted saying that the State's budget situation has been getting worse, financed by more borrowing and more unpaid bills.
On July 1, 2010—the first day of the State of Illinois’ FY2011 fiscal year—Governor Pat Quinn said that his budget for the new year will contain major spending cuts. However, most of the reductions have yet to be determined and the FY2011 budget continues to be unbalanced, with an expected operating deficit of $5.9 billion. The Governor announced at a press conference that his FY2011 General…
Last month the State of Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) released a report entitled “Sales Tax in Illinois.". According to the report, in FY2009 general revenue fund sales tax collections totaled $6.77 billion, down 6.1% from $7.21 billion in the prior fiscal year. It is estimated that general revenue fund sales tax collections will continue to…
This article about Governor Quinn’s plan to sign the FY2011 Illinois budget passed by the Illinois General Assembly mentions that State legislators have not followed recommendations made by the Civic Federation in its analyses of the State’s finances.
