State of Illinois

.

Tax Expenditures Cost State of Illinois $6.6 Billion in FY2010

The Illinois State Comptroller’s Office recently issued its annual report on tax expenditures. The report is published pursuant…

.

Civic Federation Position Statement on Property Tax Exemption for Charitable Organizations

The Civic Federation urges the General Assembly to establish clear standards of eligibility on property tax exemptions for charitable organizations. We are concerned that many organizations are uncertain about their property tax…

.

Operating Deficit Declines but Unpaid Bills and Other Liabilities Still Loom Large

Largely due to the income tax increase that took effect in January 2011, the State of Illinois’ operating deficit is expected to shrink from $3.9 billion in FY2011 to $454 million in FY2012. However, as…

.

Governor Proposes Closing State Facilities, Laying Off 1,900 State Workers

Two months after the start of the State of Illinois’ 2012 fiscal year on July 1, 2011, Governor Pat Quinn has proposed the closure of seven state facilities and the layoff of more than 1,900 employees in order to cope with a funding…

.

State Sees Decline in Backlog of Business Tax Refunds

The State of Illinois still owes income tax refunds to many businesses, but the backlog declined in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011 and is expected to dip further this year. According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, 4,569…

.

Volatile PPRT Revenue Should Not Be Relied on for Local Government Operating Budgets

  Illinois’ Personal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT) is a revenue source for local governments that was created by the General Assembly…

.

State Expands Capital Budget with Additional Transportation Spending

As the State of Illinois enters the third year of its Illinois Jobs Now! capital program, the Governor and General Assembly enacted a capital budget for FY2012

.

The Final 2010 Cook County Equalization Factor is 3.3000

The Illinois Department of Revenue announced today that the final equalization factor for the Cook County 2010 property assessment year (taxes payable in 2011) is…

.

Update on Interfund Borrowing

The State of Illinois’ plan to relieve some cash flow pressures in FY2011 by borrowing nearly $1 billion from its Special Funds to pay for operations netted less than half of that amount at the close of FY2011. The interfund borrowing…

.

Court Likely to Decide Dispute Over State Employee Health Insurance

In April 2011, State of Illinois officials announced plans to award four new contracts for state employee health insurance to replace existing…