The Problem Illinois’s state budget is billions of dollars in the hole, but that didn’t stop Illinois government from handing out pay increases to 46,000 state workers on July 1, 2010. Indeed, Governor Pat Quinn has handed out 43 raises (averaging 11.4 percent to his staff) since he took the oath of office. All areas of government...
by Will Compernolle The Sun-Times reports that more than 10% of Metra employees last year made at least $20,000 in overtime pay. Total overtime pay in 2009 reached nearly $20 million. Metra says that, while it’s hardly ideal to spend so much on overtime pay, there’s not much it can do about a lot of it. Accidents, bad...
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson A recent Rasmussen survey reveals that “most Americans report their state currently has a budget crisis, and they continue to blame politicians more than taxpayers for the problem.” How did the numbers break down? The article continues: The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Adults shows 75% say the unwillingness of politicians to reduce...
by Kate Piercy New Jersey Governor Chrisitie’s administration has put out a 57-page report identifying areas where government services could be privatized in order to save tax dollars — 210 million dollars a year, to be exact. According to a report from NorthJersey.com: State parks, psychiatric hospitals and even turnpike toll booths could also be run...
by Ashley Muchow For Illinois, 2010 was a record breaking era. Our state managed to shatter three tremendous records for this past fiscal year. Adjusted year-end General Revenue Fund balance was a negative $4.69 billion, a record. The backlog of unpaid bills at fiscal year end was $4.7 billion, a record. It now takes the comptroller’s office 153 working...
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson According to a Bloomberg News article, Thomas Wilson, CEO of Illinois-based Allstate Corporation, recently “called for political leaders to cut costs.” Wilson is quoted as saying “Government borrowing is way out of control. We need to get our house in order.” Bloomberg reports: The middle class is “going to bear the brunt of the...
by Kate Piercy The Mercatus Institute’s Veronique de Rugy used “data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis to compare recent changes in government expenditures to those in private domestic investment.” What did she find? Government consumption and investment have generally grown more quickly than private expenditures and investment during the last decade. In the last...
by Kristina Rasmussen $4.712 billion. That the size of Illinois’s unpaid bill backlog at the end of June, according to a new report from the comptroller’s office. It’s up from “just” $2.785 billion at the end of last year. Payment delays are also up: “the delay in paying vouchers was 153 working days this June compared to...
by Kristina Rasmussen Governor Quinn claims to make $1.4 billion in spending reductions for fiscal year 2011 compared to fiscal year 2010. Why is Governor Quinn comparing his proposed spending reductions to last year’s spending levels instead of his proposed budget for fiscal year 2011? It makes his cuts look bigger. Think about it. Last year’s spending was artificially...
by Amanda Griffin-Johnson Yesterday, Quinn unveiled and signed the Illinois state budget for fiscal year 2011 in which he claims to cut $1.4 billion when compared to the FY2010 budget. He outlined only $509 million in specific appropriation cuts, with the remaining $891 million categorized under vague “emergency budget act reserves.” But let’s focus on this year’s...
by Kristina Rasmussen Even though the state budget is billions of dollars out of whack, many state government employees are set to receive a pay raise today. From the Pantagraph: SPRINGFIELD — Despite a state budget that is billions of dollars out of whack, more than 46,000 state workers will see bigger paychecks on Thursday. Judges, prison...
by Brian Costin In a bit of good news the arrival of July 1st, 2010 marked a drop in the Cook County sales tax rate. The Cook County portion of the sales tax (1.75%) dropped ½ a percentage point to 1.25%. This means for a $100 purchase of goods the average consumer will save 50 cents. Unfortunately, Chicago...
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s new budget “fix” indicates he’s living in a fiscal fairy tale. His spending adjustment recommendations do not come remotely close to balancing the budget, and he has failed to offer clean break from the state’s perpetual fiscal mismanagement. Governor Quinn claims to make $1.4 billion in spending reductions for fiscal year...
y Amanda Griffin-Johnson Since 2000, Chicago’s city budget has increased by 11.6%, when adjusted for inflation. So what are reasons for the budget growth? According to the most recent estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau, Chicago’s population only increased by 1% between 2000 and 2008. Reasons for budget increases mentioned in the city press release for the 2010 budget...