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Chicago Tribune: With Illinois budget deal secured, public universities still face challenges
For the first time in more than two years, Illinois’ public universities can start the school year with the promise of state money from Springfield.
Illinois went 736 days without a budget when lawmakers overrode Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a spending plan and tax hike July 6. State universities received a fraction of their typical state funding before the spigot was shut off in 2017 — spurring campus shutdowns, layoffs, program cuts, maintenance failures and construction delays along the way.
Crain's Chicago Business: Illinois: Land of still unfunded pension obligations
Lawmakers in Springfield got some things right when they passed the first state budget in three years over Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto. But when it comes to the state’s gravest financial problem—unfunded public employee pension obligations estimated at $130 billion and counting—they did nothing. Actually, they did worse than nothing. They took steps that could compound the problem.
That’s because the budget calls for a $1.5 billion cut in state contributions to pension plans, the single largest spending cut in the budget by far. And, as Crain’s business columnist Joe Cahill pointed out in a July 11 post, some $900 million of that cut reflects wishful thinking about future investment returns at these funds.
State Journal-Register: Even with a budget, eliminating bill backlog will take time
Along with the state’s first full budget in three years, Illinois lawmakers this month approved plans to pay down the enormous bill backlog that was a byproduct of the financial stalemate.
But the person who will ultimately write the checks to pay down that backlog is warning that the end of the stalemate – and the higher taxes that were approved as part of that deal – aren’t a quick fix for eliminating the stack of bills that total nearly $14.5 billion.
Northwest Herald: Illinois school officials worry Illinois flooding might affect classes
Officials in one Illinois school district are concerned that flooding from recent rainfall will affect the start of classes next month.
Bookshelves in W.J. Murphy Elementary School’s library are covered by water, The Chicago Tribune reported.
Decatur Herald & Review: State tax hike costs $580 more on average for Decatur residents
The first true impact of lawmakers hiking the state’s income tax will likely be felt on paychecks starting next week. For Decatur, the actions in the Statehouse during the historic overtime session mean residents will pay an average $580 more annually come next year.
“It is affecting people’s bottom line more than they think it is,” said Amy Jedlicka, an accountant for Gustafson & Associates, a tax service in Decatur. “How much are you getting to keep at the end of the day after all of these taxes?”
Northwest Herald: Lake in the Hills Sanitary District should pursue consolidation
The Lake in the Hills Sanitary District should do what’s best for taxpayers and stop trying to block attempts to consolidate it.
The district’s former board was trying to kill a potential consolidation before it even had been properly studied.
Rockford Register-Star: Funding uncertain for Rockford airport, Rock Valley College, even with state budget
Illinois has a budget for the first time in three years, but there’s no money in it for several projects that the city has been expecting, in some cases, for years.
The spending plan that lawmakers approved July 6 by overriding Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto contains a 32 percent income tax increase for Illinoisans, but none of the structural reforms that Rauner and Republicans favor, such as a property tax freeze and pension and workers’ compensation reform.