Illinois spent at least $813,653,009.72 on purchases from other states.
$6,500 for a tub of live bass? $78,066 for quail promotion? $353,165 for car racing? Does this sound like a budget for a state in dire fiscal straits?
State budget transparency on the way?
The Problem State spending in Illinois has skyrocketed over the past decade, increasing 39 percent from 1998 to 2008 (after inflation). “Appropriated Funds Expenditures” include general, highway, special state, bond financed, debt service, federal trust, revolving funds, and state trust funds. Illinois’s population growth has been minimal, increasing just under 7 percent between 1998 and...
“The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas, and throw the bad ones away.” So said Linus Pauling, the two-time Nobel Prize winner for chemistry. A lot of ideas have been suggested to solve Illinois’s budget shortfall, and it’s time to separate the good from the bad. According to the National...
Governor Pat Quinn claims that $3.2 billion in new personal and corporate income tax receipts are necessary to put Illinois’s budget back in the black. In a down economy, however, the last thing that families and businesses need to worry about is the dangling noose of higher taxes. The Illinois Policy Institute recently released an...
The Problem • State spending in Illinois has skyrocketed over the past decade, increasing 39% after inflation per capita since 1998. Meanwhile, population has only grown 6.8%. • In 1998, state spending per citizen was $3500. Ten years later, state spending per citizen was $4600 (inflation adjusted). • Overall, the state budget has ballooned from...
The Problem Budgeting and ethics problems continue to compound in Illinois. The state’s budget deficit tops $9 billion, spending continues to surge, and there is little to no transparency as to where—and to whom—tax dollars are going. This must be checked and stopped. Our Solution Implementing statewide transparency and creating a Council on Efficient Government...
Government has become a glutton. In Illinois, a voracious appetite for more spending has led the state budget to balloon from $24.7 billion in 2004 to $32.2 billion in 2009 – an increase of nearly 30 percent over just five years. It’s time to put government on a diet. A sensible expenditure limit would ensure...
While families and private businesses balance their budget in tight economic times, the government continues with its extravagant spending. Deficits don’t appear out of nowhere, especially not with our state’s irresponsible spending habits. When it comes to balancing the budget in hard times, every little bit counts. This report presents some silly spending and wasteful programs funded...
Over the past few weeks, the U.S. government has been busy issuing “stress tests” to determine whether the nation’s largest banks are solvent. Today, the Illinois Policy Institute decided to join in by releasing it’s very own “stress test.” There’s one catch: It’s not for troubled banks. It’s for the government itself. You can check...
The Problem Bob and Rita Smith* are generous people. Every year, they give about $2,000 to wealthy, politically connected real estate developers doing business in their Wilson Yard neighborhood. Bob and Rita live frugally, work hard to save for retirement, and struggle to make ends meet each month—and yet, they keep on giving to the...
Critics say that the effect of suspending the Illinois Gas Tax will be minimal and would deprive state government of needed taxes to build highways and roads. They are wrong on both counts. Lowering the gas sales tax from 6.25% to 1.25% (HB6318) will make a material difference in the lives of Illinois residents in...