Experts available in Springfield and Chicago

WHAT: Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner will deliver his first State of the State address on Wednesday, Feb. 4. For the past five years, the Illinois Policy Institute has studied the state’s budget and pension problems and has shown how to responsibly balance the state’s budget without borrowing or raising taxes. Experts from the Illinois Policy Institute will be available in Chicago and Springfield to comment on Rauner’s speech and his proposals.

WHEN: Experts are available throughout the week in Chicago and Springfield.

WHERE:

In Chicago: Ted Dabrowski, vice president of policy

Diana Rickert, vice president of communications

In Springfield: Kristina Rasmussen, executive vice president

BACKGROUND:

The Illinois Policy Institute has conducted extensive analysis on Illinois’ budget and has crafted alternative budgets for the past five years showing how lawmakers can balance the state budget without costly tax hikes or borrowing.

In 2011, Illinois raised income taxes 67 percent in an attempt to pay down the state’s backlogged bills. Despite raising $31 billion in additional tax revenue from the tax hike, Illinois still has more than $5.8 billion in unpaid bills – more than before the tax increase.

The Institute has completed a close review of Illinois’ budget for this coming fiscal year and will be releasing the first installment of analysis this week. The Institute’s research analyzes the two biggest spending items in the state budget: state-employee compensation and health-care costs.

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, government workers in Illinois make an average of $17,250 more in pay and benefits than private-sector workers. By bringing Illinois state-employee pay in line with national averages, Illinois could save nearly $1 billion annually.

For every dollar of health-care premiums for an Illinois government worker, only 17 cents is paid for by the worker themselves, while the remaining 83 cents is paid for with tax dollars.

Responsible reform of government-worker pay and benefits must be done to balance Illinois’ budget in a fair and sustainable way for both taxpayers and state workers.

For interviews:  Diana Rickert or Nathaniel Hamilton (312) 607-4977