Illinois state budget
On January 12, 2011, lawmakers raised the state income tax 66%, from 3% to 5% of income, with Governor Pat Quinn explaining it was necessary because, "our fiscal house was burning."[1]
Illinois's Gov. Pat Quinn signed the state's $25 billion FY2011 state budget on July 1, 2010.[2] In December 2010, Quinn proposed borrowing $15 billion to pay the state's bills.[3]
Illinois' financial situation is worse than any other state in the country according to a study by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The state ended Fiscal Year 2010 in worse shape than any other state (the state’s general fund balance was the lowest it has ever been at negative $4.7 billion[4]) and the state's budget situation has been called "tenuous at best."[5]
Illinois will receive $974 million from the federal government under H.R. 1586, a $26 billion plan to give states money for Medicaid and education that the President signed into law on August 10, 2010.[6]
Gov. Pat Quinn signed a new state budget for FY2011 on July 1, 2010. The state is second only to California's budget woes in terms of budget woes and is currently facing a $12.8 billion budget shortfall for FY 2010 and 2011, according to a January 2010 study by the Civic Federation. The budget as passed does not come close to erasing the state’s $13 billion deficit, the largest in history.[7]
In the FY2011 budget, Quinn planned to reduce $509 million in spending plans for a variety of state agencies, with the largest reduction, $313 million, is primarily targeted to programs that serve the mentally ill and developmentally disabled through the Department of Human Services. State employee layoffs are not part of the plan due to a deal earlier this year in which the AFSCME agreed to defer part of its scheduled pay raises in exchange for a guarantee of no layoffs or facility closures through June 30, 2011.[7] The study by the National Conference of State Legislatures reported in its study that the state plans to boost spending for FY2010 by 15.1%.[5]
Illinois has a total state debt of $120,743,173,392 when calculated by adding the total of outstanding debt, pension and OPEB UAAL’s, unemployment trust funds and the 2010 budget gap as of July 2010.[8]
| Total spending | Pension | Health care | Education | Welfare | Protection | Transport | Deficit | Budget gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $56.6 | $8.3 | $18.7 | $8.4 | $7.4 | $2.3 | $4 | $67.5 | $.56 |
| Total spending | Pension | Health care | Education | Welfare | Protection | Transport | Deficit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $74.8 | $4 | $2.3 | $29.4 | $2.5 | $8.8 | $10 | $74 |
[edit] FY2012 State Budget
Comptroller Dan Hynes issued a report in Oct. 2010 projecting that the state will face a deficit of $15 billion or more in FY2012.[10]
[edit] FY2011 State Budget
[edit] Tax Hike
The state legislature approved a bill on Jan. 12, 2011, to generate $6.5 billion by increasing taxes over a full year period, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2011.[1] It increases the personal income tax rate from 3% to 5% until 2015, when it would drop to 3.75%, and it would drop again in 2025 to 3.25%.[1] The corporate tax rate would rise from 4.8% to 7% until 2015, when it would drop to 5.25%, and then drop again in 2025 back to 4.8%.[1]
The bill ties the higher tax rates to state spending in the next four budget years, and if the state auditor general finds that lawmakers and the governor exceeded specific spending levels, the higher income tax rates would revert to original levels. The set spending limits not to be exceeded are:
- $36.8 billion in the 2012 budget year
- $37.5 billion in 2013
- $38.3 billion in 2014
- $39 billion in 2015.[1]
As of Jan 3, 2011, the state had a backlog of more than $6 billion in unpaid bills and almost $4 billion in missed payments to underfunded state pensions.[11] The legislature convened on Jan. 3, 2011, and planned to address the financial crisis by considering spending cuts, expanding casino gambling and a proposal from Gov. Quinn to borrow $15 billion to pay overdue bills and help fill the budget hole.[11]
In Dec. 2010, the National Conference of State Legislatures said that the state faced a midyear shortfall of $13 billion, which represents 47% of the FY2011 state budget.[12] Other experts have said that Illinois faces a $15 billion budget deficit.[10]
Shortly thereafter, Gov. Quinn proposed borrowing $15 billion to pay the state's bills.[13] The most conventional source of money to repay the loan — an income tax increase of 1% — is also the most controversial.[13] Lawmakers have a final lame-duck session in early January 2011 before the new General Assembly is sworn in on January 12, 2011[14], creating an environment that historically has made it easier to push through major legislation.[13]
From June 30, 2010 to Oct. 1, 2010, the state's the general fund’s negative balance deepened from $4.7 billion to $4.93 billion.[10] The amount of unpaid obligations estimated to be $8 billion by the end of FY2011 on June 30, 2011, and that figure would increase if the state fails to make $3.7 billion in pension payments due this year.[10] The state has bills dating back to March and Comptroller Hynes said that payments to vendors will be delayed, possibly until December.[10]
The governor's budget director, David Vaught, said that he expected lawmakers to raise the individual and corporate income-tax rates by 2 percentage points. The move would bring in $6 billion of new revenue, which is needed given the state's deficit.[4]
On May 27, 2010, the Illinois legislature passed a budget for FY2011 with a $13 billion shortfall that Business Week described as "built on borrowing, unpaid bills and one-time revenue maneuvers."[15] Legislators, rather than setting specific spending levels for each state program, approved lump sums that Gov. Pat Quinn will dole out. Quinn must decide where to cut spending and how much, and the legislature also gave him the power to divert money set aside in special-purpose funds.[16] He has been vague on where those cuts will be made.
The FY2011 state budget does not include provisions to pay the businesses and charities that provide services on behalf of the state, meaning that day-care centers, health clinics and homes for the disabled will have to wait months for payment.[15]
Lawmakers ignored the Governor's proposal to increase income taxes by one-third. They also rejected a proposal to raise cigarette taxes, but permitted Quinn to sell the rights to some of the money the state should receive from a major tobacco lawsuit that could produce a one-time sum of $1.2 billion.[15]
The FY2011 budget also includes a sales tax "holiday" on clothing and school supplies in mid-August.[15]
[edit] Federal Stimulus
Of the state aid approved by Congress in August 2010, Illinois anticipates receiving $400 million for education and $550 million for Medicaid.[17] It was less than the state had hope to receive.[18] Gov. Quinn said he doubted a special legislative session would be necessary the state to spend the federal funds.[17] Quinn previously detailed a $215.7 million cut to the state's Department of Healthcare and Family Services, responsible for the state’s Medicaid and public insurance programs, which was a 2.7% cut compared to FY2010. That was also contingent on a “continued enhanced Medicaid match,” which the state did not get. The state is now responsible for an additional $200 million.[18]
[edit] Budget Cuts
The state closed 13 of its 15 tourist information centers to save approximately $2 million per year.[19]
In July, Gov. Quinn said he eliminate $1.4 billion from the budget but did not offer many specifics on where those cuts would be made until early August 2010, when he detailed $891 million in budget cuts.[20] The August announcement of budget cuts still did not provide details of how the cuts would be made and savings achieved. Many of the cuts were described simply as "efficiencies" and "changes." For example, one $60 million cut was described as: "DHS will achieve operating efficiencies through review of contracts and programmatic changes." No information on programmatic changes was given.[21]
The governor's cuts include:
- $576 million from the Department of Human Services, or 14%[21], most of which is the result of cutting $515 million in grants[20]
- $311 million will be cut from preschool through 12th grade education,[20] amounting to a loss of 4.3%[21]
- the State Board of Education budget will lose $10 million from operations, $10 million from principal mentoring and arts and foreign languages and $62 million for student transportation, meaning transportation funding is 42% less than last year.[20] In addition, the department will lose $68.5 million in reading improvement block grants.[21]
- $42 million from the Department of Corrections[20]
- $28.4 million from the Department of Aging[20]
- $18.2 million from the Department of Public Health[20]
- $2.4 million from the Department of Natural Resources, wiping out the Wildlife Prairie Park subsidy[20]
- $2 million from Amtrak[20]
Not all agencies were cut. Department of Juvenile Justice's budget increases $6.4 million more, and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs received an addition $7.8 million.[20]
Gov. Quinn's cuts reduce the state's $13 billion deficit, but still leaves a $6 billion gap between expenses and revenue and about $6 billion in unpaid bills from last year. That shortfall amounts to approximately half the budget's general funds, where state officials have broad authority to raise or lower spending.[21]
[edit] State Employees
Despite the state's fiscal issues, Gov. Quinn gave salary increases averaging 11.4% to 35 members of his staff from April 2009 through July 2010. When criticized by his gubenatorial opponent, Quinn reversed course and saved the state approximately $18 million when he ordered his employees to take 24 unpaid days off instead of 12.[22] The governor's order required 2,700 non-union state workers to take 24 unpaid days off.[23]
Although the governor issued the order for the furloughs on fears that the state would not receive federal Medicaid funds, the federal government approved $974 million in funds, $550 million for Medicaid.[24] After the passage of the federal funds, the governor did not rescind the plan to require furloughs but his administration developed new rules permitting nonunion state workers to use vacation and personal days to fulfill their furlough days requirement, meaning that employees will not lose pay.[25] The administration previously said the furlough requirement would save the state $18 million, but the governor's spokeswoman would not provide a revised estimate based on the new rules.[25]
[edit] Reliance on Debt
As of the end of August 2010, Illinois had borrowed $9.6 billion in the prior 12 months; the Civic Federation estimates will eventually cost Illinois taxpayers $551 million in extra interest payments.[26]
Illinois and California are the two lowest-rated states by the three major credit-rating agencies.[27] The low rating means that residents will pay as much as $551.3 million extra for the state's borrowing over the last year, according to the Civic Federation.[27] It also found that more than half the state's additional borrowing costs, amounting to approximately $301.2 million, will come due in the next five years.[27]
Illinois plans to borrow more than $3 billion to pay the bills for FY2011 and in June 2010, the legislature permitted the university systems to borrow millions more to make up for the fact that the state has not made the payments it had promised them.[28]
The state is relying heavily on debt, drawing comparisons to debt-ridden Greece.[29] The state's heavy reliance on borrowing to "balance" the budget has resulted in the state's bond rating being lowered by Fitch Ratings and Moody's. Fitch observed, "The recently enacted FY 2011 budget does not begin to address the current operating gap, relying almost entirely on various forms of deficit financing to close the gap."[30] In fact, the state's bond rating is lower than all but seven sovereign nations, ranking only slightly higher than Iraq.[28] The state's budget director said that the state would raise tax rates in part because companies that rate municipal bonds have pressured the state to show it has the ability to address its deficit.[4]
The cost of insuring five-year Illinois bonds to protect $10 million of debt against default in June 2010 rose to $370,000, a record, from a low of $155,000 in January, 2010. The price fell back to $281,000 at the end of July 2010.[4]
The state plans to raise $900 million starting July 15, 2010, through Build America Bonds, a Recovery Act program, to fund its first capital program in more than a decade. Although the bonds are taxable, the federal government subsidizes 35% of the interest payments. Midway through 2010 the state had issued $2.3 billion in Build America Bonds, attracting many new investors, including those from overseas.[29]
Illinois then plans to generate $1.3 billion in short-term notes at the end of July 2010 and $1.4 billion in debt related to tobacco settlement funds in November. Despite the fact that the state sold $2.4 billion in pension notes in January 2010, it plans to once again turn to the debt markets to fund $3.7 billion in pension obligations in December 2010, pending approval by the state legislature.[29]
Pension plans The state's pension funds are among the most underfunded in the country. In October 2010, the Executive Director of the Illinois State Board of Investments, which manages one-fifth of the state's pension funds, said it is selling $80 million of assets a month to pay pension benefits.[31] Gov. Quinn proposed that the state pay $300 million less than the total $4.5 billion estimated contribution to the state's pension systems for FY2011.[32] The legislature passed bills to scale back pension benefits expected to save $100 billion over several decades, according to legislators [32], who passed the bill in one day in March, 2010.[33] The governor signed into law on April 13, 2010.[33]
Every year the state contributes to the retirement systems that cover state workers, downstate teachers, university employees and others. The government owes about $3.7 billion to the systems for FY2011. The state borrowed money to pay its pension contribution last year and Democrats said that now that the state faces a roughly $13 billion budget shortfall for that fiscal year, borrowing the money was the only realistic way to get the pension funds.[15] Borrowing the pension money would cost about $1 billion in interest; skipping the payment entirely would cost pension systems roughly $20 billion in lost income and interest.[15]
[edit] Jobs and Unemployment Insurance
Gov. Quinn claimed in August 2010 to have created 60,000 jobs in the state since Jan. 1, 2010.[34] A spokeswoman for Bill Brady, Quinn's gubenatorial opponent, said "The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tells a different story, with 200,000 fewer Illinois jobs in the past 18 months."[34]
Illinois has borrowed more than $2.2 billion from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits to laid-off workers and owe approximately $250 million in interest.[35] The deficit in the fund is estimated to be $2.75 billion by the end of 2010. The fund is financed by employer contributions, which does not receive state tax dollars.[35]
[edit] Income Tax Increase
Gov. Quinn said he expects the income tax revenues to climb by $3 billion if lawmakers approve his plan to institute a 4 percent income tax, up from the current 3 percent rate.[34]
[edit] Budget Background
The Illinois Constitution requires the governor to prepare and present a State budget recommendation for the state to the General Assembly. The Constitution also requires that the proposed budget be balanced and include recommended spending levels for state agencies, estimated funds available from tax collections and other sources, and state debt and liabilities. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) estimates revenues in consultation with the Department of Revenue and GOMB subsequently develops budget recommendations that reflect the governor’s programmatic and spending priorities.
The Governor presents the Budget Address in February. After the Governor’s Budget Address, legislative review of the governor’s budget recommendations begins almost immediately with hearings before House and Senate appropriation committees.
Final approval of the budget usually occurs at the end of the legislative session, typically by the end of May. The Illinois Constitution requires a simple majority vote of the General Assembly for a bill passed on or before May 31 to take effect immediately. On or after June 1, a three-fifths super majority vote of the General Assembly is required in order for a bill to take effect for the upcoming fiscal year.
Once the General Assembly passes the budget, the governor must sign appropriation bills before funds can be spent. If the Governor chooses not to approve a specific appropriation, he may either veto a specific line item or reduce it. The rest of the appropriation bill is unaffected by these vetoes and becomes effective. Line items that have been vetoed or reduced must be reconsidered by the General Assembly during the fall session. The General Assembly may return an item to the enacted level by simple majority vote in both chambers in the case of a reduction veto and by a three-fifths super majority vote in the case of a line item veto. [36]
[edit] Budget figures
FY2010 Operating Appropriations by fund group FY 2010: [36]
- General Funds 53.7%
- Special State Funds 22%
- Federal Trust Funds 16.7%
- Highway Funds 4%
- Debt Service Funds 2.9%
- State Trust Funds 0.6%
Total cuts made after passage of FY2010 budget[37]
| Category | Amount cut (in millions) |
|---|---|
| K-12 Education | 85.2 |
| Higher Education | 6.7 |
| Public Assistance | 41.1 |
| Medicaid | 140.0 |
| Transportation | 1.7 |
| Other | 108.2 |
| Total | 382.9 |
Fiscal 2010 Tax Collections Compared With Projections Used in Adopting Fiscal 2010 Budgets (Millions)[37]
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sales Tax Original Estimate | 6,394 |
| Sales Tax Current Estimate | 6,200 |
| Personal Income Tax Original Estimate | 9,206 |
| Personal Income Tax Current Estimate | 8,460 |
| Corporate Income Tax Estimate | 1,133 |
| Corporate Income Tax Estimate | 1,310 |
General Fund[38]
| Category | FY2009 Amount in millions Actual | FY 2010 Amount in millions Estimated |
|---|---|---|
| Beginning Balance | 141 | 280 |
| Revenues | 27,551 | 25,828 |
| Adjustments | 1,593 | 2,167 |
| Total Resources | 29,285 | 28,275 |
| Expenditures | 26,982 | 23,714 |
| Adjustments | 2,023 | 4,281 |
| Ending Balance | 280 | 280 |
| Budget Stabilization Fund | 276 | 276 |
The Illinois state government appropriated $67,693,357,273.26 to be spent in the 2007 fiscal year. [39]
| Fiscal Year | General Funds Expenditures | % Change from Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | $21,527,000,000[40] | 9.4%[40] |
| 2000 | $22,976,000,000[40] | 6.7%[40] |
| 2001 | $24,583,000,000[40] | 7.0%[40] |
| 2002 | $25,125,000,000[40] | 2.2%[40] |
| 2003 | $24,861,000,000[41] | -1.0%[40] |
| 2004 | $26,365,000,000[42] | 6.0%[42] |
| 2005 | $28,247,000,000[43] | 7.1%[43] |
| 2006 | $28,452,000,000[44] | 0.7%[44] |
| 2007 | $30,116,000,000[40] | 5.8%[40] |
| 2008 | $27,162,717,000[36] | -9.8% |
| 2009 | $29,787,690,000[45] | 9.7% |
| 2010 | $26,031,201,000[45] | -7.7% |
| 2011 - Proposed | $24,508,432,000[45] | -5.8% |
See Illinois state budget (2008-2009) for more details.
[edit] 2009-2010 budget crisis
[edit] 2008-2009 budget crisis
[edit] Budget Transparency
- See also: Evaluation of Illinois state website or find sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard
[edit] State budget websites and analysis
As of May 2009, the Illinois Office of Management and Budget website does not post copies of the budget proposals from previous fiscal years. This is unusual, given that many other states' budget offices to keep up archived copies of past budgets.[46] For the 2011 budget, the state adopted a more transparent method of publishing it's budget, providing the information on a quarterly and annual basis. The new process will not affect how agency's budgets will be audited, these reports will continue to be released a year or more after revenue and costs are available.[47]
The Illinois Policy Institute posted the PDF budget books from 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.
According to the Illinois Policy Institute, Illinois ranks 48th in economic performance, doing better than Michigan and Ohio[48]:
- 42nd in economic outlook. Neighboring Indiana and Missouri rank well ahead in terms of future opportunity, at 12th and 17th respectively.
- 44th in GDP growth, averaging only 3.83% over the last decade. Illinois GDP growth has declined since 1977 at a rate from 7.6% to 5.9%.
- 46th in debt burden. Illinois continues to spend government revenue growth on government expansion rather than funding past debt obligations, including pensions.
- 44th in personal income growth over the past decade, averaging at 3.83% while the U.S. average is 4.19%.
- 47th in employment growth from 1977 till 2006, ranking ahead of only Michigan, Ohio and Louisiana.
- 37th in improving its standard of living, growing at only 1.13% per year over the past decade. While Illinois ranks relatively high in standard of living (18th), the state continues to fall farther down the ranks.
- 48th in net migration, with over 727,150 people having left the state from 1997-2006.
- 7th highest in median property taxes paid.
- 14th highest overall tax burden in the nation.
- 9th highest in property tax burden.
- 4th highest gas tax burden (approximately 40 cents per gallon).
- 1st in sales tax burden (Chicago & Cook County).
- Illinois is shrinking in wealth, once ranking as high as 6th in per capita personal income and dropping to 18th today.
- The growth of the Illinois economy has lagged the rest of the country for each of the last three decades.
[edit] Government tools
As of March 2009, Gov. Pat Quinn launched Budget Illinois which summarizes the proposed budget for 2010, offers budget figures and also details a capital projects list including information on the recommended and actual appropriations and expenditures going forward. [49]
According to Joe Calomino, Illinois State Director of Americans for Prosperity, Illinois's"current opaque spending process creates the perception, or possible reality, of legislators or bureaucrats using the state budget to fund unnecessary, wasteful, or even corrupt programs, confident that most Illinoisans will never know about it. Giving taxpayers the tools to understand where and how their money is being spent will make state government more accountable and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse."[50]
However, thanks to leaders on the local level, transparency is spreading.[51]
"Open Book" is a searchable database of state contracts and campaign contributions that is hosted by the Illinois State Comptroller. Also available from the Comptroller's Office is aggregate expenditure information that can be sorted in a variety of ways. Line-item information is not available.
House Bill 35 is a 2009 reintroduction of Rep. Michael Tryon's 2008 transparency bill House Bill 4765, and would require the state to create and maintain a Web site on state employees’ salaries, state contracts, state expenditures, state tax credits and revocations and suspensions of state professional licenses. HB 35 was sent to Governor Pat Quinn on June 12, 2009.[52] The only high ranking state official listed on the site, however, is Gov. Quinn; other state employees, including Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Secretary of State Jesse White and legislators are not included.[53]
Some cities and school districts have put expenditures up online; a list of these transparent entities can be found here.
Illinois launched Sunshine.Illinois.gov to publish state expenditures, grants, pubic facilities’ inspection reports and more can be searched by citizens.[54]
The following table is helpful in evaluating the level of transparency provided by "Open Book"andthe Comptroller's aggregate expenditure website.
| State Database | Searchability | Grants | Contracts | Line Item Expenditures | Dept/Agency Budgets | Public Employee Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Books |  |
|
|
|
 |
|
| Comptroller's aggregate expenditure website | |
|
|
|
|
|
[edit] Limitations and Suggestions
- Add a copy of the actual contracts to Open Book.
- Provide line-item spending information on the Comptroller's aggregate expenditure information website.
[edit] Economic Stimulus Transparency
- In August 2010, the federal government approved a jobs bill, which includes $550 million in additional federal Medicaid funding for Illinois and $974 million for the state total.[citation needed]
- It is estimated that Illinois will receive at least $6.3 billion in federal funding.[55]
- The economic recovery website for Illinois is available here.
Three Illinois projects were noted in Senator Coburn and Senator McCain's "Summertime Blues, 100 stimulus projects that give taxpayers the blues" report. One project awarded $712,883 in stimulus funds Northwestern University to create computer systems that will gather jokes from the Internet and use them to create hilarious presentations that mimic real-life comedians.[56] Another project uses $18 million of bonding authority granted to McHenry County from the stimulus bill for a sports complex.[56] In addition, the report noted that the University of Illinois received half a million dollars to study the relationship between taxes and obesity.[56]
An audit recently conducted on the $242 million weatherization program, partially funded by stimulus dollars, failed energy efficiency upgrades for low-income homes repeatedly during final inspection.[57] At least 12 of the homes were left in a state which caused risk to the occupants.
[edit] Error in ARRP
On November 16 and 17, 2009, many errors were found in the $747 billion plan that showed the plan set aside money for districts that do not exist. According to Recovery.gov, the plan shows its funds will go to 884 Congressional Districts, though there are only 435.[58][59]
The federal stimulus website sent money to six phantom Districts in Illinois. In fact, nearly $500,000 was directed towards the 20th District, which ceased to exist after the 2000 census.[60]
[edit] Independent transparency sites
- The Illinois Policy Institute has launched an Independent transparency site, www.openillinois.org.
[edit] Illinois Open Gov
Illinois Open Gov is a transparency website sponsored by the organization.[61][62] The site will list state employee salary, retiree pensions, and vendor information. The site states plans to eventually include all state spending. [63]
Illinois Open Gov exceeds the current state sponsored site for government employee salary information by also factoring in information about employee's benefits and providing information about retired state employees.[63]
The site also allows others to repurpose the data by allowing it to be downloadable in Excel or CSV file formats. It also host's a forum for public conversation to discuss particular spending items.[63]
[edit] Public employee salary information
The Chicago Sun Times offers this database of Cook County, Chicago and Illinois state employee salaries.
The Better Government Association offers this searchable database of selected public payrolls. The BGA database includes salaries of employees of the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri, as well as several city and counties in northeastern Illinois.
This is a look at the Top 100 Paid Teachers in 2007. From Champion News.net.
A list of the salaries of employees of the University of Illinois is posted here.
Click here to find out information on salaries and pensions as provided by illinoisloop.org, an education website.
[edit] Accounting principles
The Illinois Auditor General is William G. Holland. Since August 1992, William G. Holland has served as Auditor General of the State of Illinois. He was appointed by the General Assembly to a ten-year term commencing August 1, 1992. He was unanimously re-appointed to a second ten-year term, effective August 1, 2002.[64] The Auditor General is a constitutional officer of the State of Illinois charged with reviewing the obligation, expenditure, receipt and use of public funds. The office issues approximately 150 post-audits of State agencies each year, reviewing an agency's financial records, compliance with State and federal laws and regulations, and program performance after the close of its fiscal year. Report digests (summaries) and full audit reports of released audits are available online. [65]
The Illinois State Comptroller is Daniel W. Hynes, who has had 3 terms since first elected in November of 1998. The Comptroller's Office was created by the Constitutional Convention of 1970 as an expanded replacement for the Office of the Auditor of Public Accounts.[66]
The Institute for Truth in Accounting (IFTA) rates Illinois “Worst” in filing the state’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) – The annual report of state and local governmental entities. IFTA rated 22 states timely, 22 states tardy, and 6 states as worst. IFTA does not consider Illinois’ CAFRs, and those of the other states, to be accurate representations of the state’s financial condition because the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis does not include significant liabilities for the pension plans and for other post employment benefits, such as health care.[67] Illinois’ CAFRs are published online by the Illinois State Comptroller.[68]
| Credit Rating | Fitch | Moody's | S&P |
| Illinois[69] | A | A1 | AA- |
Governor Pat Quinn joined with Attorney General Lisa Madigan and members of the Illinois Reform Commission on August 17, 2009 to sign bills to increase transparency and accountability in state government. The legislation strengthens the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and ensures the state’s boards and commissions are open and accessible to the public. The website makes the State’s expenditures and employee pay data available through a single, searchable portal: Accountability.Illinois.gov.[70]
[edit] See Also
- Illinois taxpayer-funded lobbying
- Illinois state government salary
- Illinois Governor Quinn sheds light on public employee salaries
- Illinois public pensions
[edit] External Links
- State Budget Solutions, Illinois
- Model transparency legislation from the American Legislative Exchange Council is available at this link.
- Illinois Policy Institute
- OpenIllinois.org
- Illinois Office of Management and Budget
- Illinois State Government homepage
- Illinois Government News Network
- Illinois Government spending
- Illinois Open Gov
- Illinois Transparency & Accountability Portal
[edit] Helpful budget links
- The Governor's Office of Management and Budget prepares the Governor's annual state budget and advises the Governor on the availability of revenues and the allocation of those resources to agency programs.
- The Illinois State Comptroller provides a number of fiscal reports, including appropriations, bond indebtedness, annual reports, executive summaries, fee impositions, fiscal state of the state, and tax expenditure reports.
- Illinois Is Broke, supported by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, a non-profit company
FROM SUNSHINE REVIEW
