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Northwest Herald: Tax increase won't solve state's problems
Whenever enough Illinois House members are able to assemble in Springfield to consider the proposal that would raise personal income taxes on citizens by 32 percent, they should keep this in mind:
Illinois’ state government is not buckling under the weight of its obligations because its people and businesses are not paying enough in income taxes.
News-Gazette: A budget? Sort of
Legislators may have passed a budget, but the state’s serious fiscal problems remain.
Illinois’ epic budget battle ended Thursday after 737 days of increasing financial chaos that strained the operation of public universities, caused some social service agencies that rely on state dollars to close and pushed the state’s backlog of unpaid bills to around $15 billion.
The politics of what happened are clear. Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan achieved another grand political victory, one that will further cement his reputation as the straw that stirs the drink in Illinois.
Chicago Tribune: Powerball, Mega Millions hiatus cost Illinois $4 million, lottery official says
Illinois lost nearly $4 million by shutting down Powerball and Mega Millions ticket sales because of the state budget impasse, a lottery official said Friday.
Lottery chief of staff Jayme Odom said the state lost about $2.4 million in revenue from Powerball and $1.5 million from Mega Millions during the ticket-sales hiatus. She said it’s unclear whether sales have recovered since they were reintroduced Thursday night.
Chicago Tribune: Roadwork getting the green light after Illinois budget vote
Illinois road construction projects that were shut down by the budget impasse will get started again sometime next week, now that the legislature has passed a major income tax increase and spending plan.
Illinois had gone 736 days without a budget, and the state told road contractors it would not be able to pay them after June 30. The costs of shutting down 700 projects across the state, maintaining the sites during the work stoppage, and then starting work up again could be more than $30 million, based on estimates provided by the Illinois Department of Transportation before June 30.
Chicago Tribune: How an ambitious pharmacy safety effort became a bill to set up a task force
Six months ago, state Rep. Mary Flowers began with an ambitious plan.
Following a Tribune investigation that found pharmacists frequently dispensed dangerous drug combinations after rushing through or skipping required safety reviews, she crafted legislation designed to ensure that safety was a top priority in Illinois pharmacies.
Associated Press: Illinois landlines will remain for now despite new state law
Officials of telecommunications conglomerate AT&T said Illinois’ landlines won’t be going away anytime soon despite a new state law to end the traditional phone service.
The Illinois Legislature allowed AT&T to disconnect its remaining 1.2 million landline customers statewide when lawmakers overrode Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto and approved the telecom modernization bill last week, The Chicago Tribune reported. But the corporation needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission before it can do so.
Decatur Herald & Review: Relief, uncertainty for Macon County agencies after budget passage
Those most at risk from the state’s two-year budget impasse are still trying to make heads or tails of the $36 billion budget solution state lawmakers approved last week.
The Democrat-controlled legislature forced a major hike into law Thursday afternoon, over Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto. Using the $5 billion in new revenue, it gives the state its first annual spending plan since 2015, when Rauner took office and settled into a two-year stalemate with leaders over taxes and economic policy.
State Journal-Register: City may take $2M hit in new state budget
Illinois’ budget enacted Thursday could mean about $2 million in lost state revenue for the city of Springfield in the fiscal year that began July 1, according to the city’s budget director.
Springfield budget director Bill McCarty said it will cost the city $840,000 for a new fee the state will charge to collect sales taxes on behalf of local governments.