UPDATE: In the face of unfavorable market conditions triggered by the downgrade of its bond rating last week, the State of Illinois announced that it would not complete the bond sale originally scheduled for today, January 30, 2013. A…
The Civic Federation's legislative priorities for 2013 include public employee pension and retiree healthcare reforms, requiring the State of Illinois to develop and implement a capital improvement plan, dissolving the Illinois…
A new three-year budget projection for the State of Illinois by Governor Pat Quinn’s administration shows that significant spending reductions will…
The 97th Illinois General Assembly’s closing session ended on January 9, 2013, leaving many questions unresolved about the State’s current budget year and fiscal sustainability in the face of its…
A pension reform proposal introduced in the Illinois General Assembly late last year could immediately reduce the State’s required annual contributions by nearly $2 billion, according to recent actuarial reports. As discussed…
At a press conference on January 3, the Civic Federation joined with a group of other civic organizations including the Better Government Association, the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Chicago Urban League to urge the Illinois…
Throughout this year’s Illinois budget negotiations, the IIFS blog was a valuable source of information and focus in the State’s murky and complex budget process. This year’s negotiations included a groundbreaking effort to address the…
This blog has previously addressed unfunded costs in the State of Illinois’ FY2013 budget, including costs relating to Medicaid and employee and…
If the U.S. Congress is unable to agree to an alternative to the automatic $491 billion in combined tax increases and spending cuts set to take place in January 2013,…
On the final day of the General Assembly’s fall veto session, a bipartisan group of State legislators unveiled a new pension reform proposal designed to help resolve the State’s pension crisis. Governor Pat Quinn has…
