Will Illinois pass a budget this year?

By Adam Schuster

04/20/2018

History shows lawmakers prefer to avoid tough but necessary choices.

TAGS: balanced budget requirement, budget, credit rating, debt, income tax, Mike Madigan, progressive income tax, Spending, spending cap, taxes

Bad accounting hides true size of Illinois’ budget deficits

By Adam Schuster

04/19/2018

Poor accounting practices prevent true financial transparency in Illinois state government.

TAGS: balanced budget requirement, budget, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, GAAP, Governmental Accounting Standards Board

Off the rails: Estimated cost for Lake Forest Amtrak stop has grown by more than 400 percent

By Vincent Caruso

03/12/2018

Efforts to add an Amtrak train stop in Lake Forest have been plagued by a series of setbacks for a project now estimated to cost more than $13.4 million.

TAGS: Amtrak, budget, grants, lobbying

Rock Island County taxpayers can’t keep up with the rate of state spending

By Joe Kaiser

02/24/2018

As the state continuously spends more than residents can afford, taxpayers in Rock Island County have seen little income growth.

TAGS: budget, income tax, Spending

City of Springfield passes unbalanced budget despite bevy of new tax hikes

By Vincent Caruso

02/23/2018

The city's budget for fiscal year 2019 was accompanied by increases in sales and telecom taxes. But local officials still anticipate a deficit.

TAGS: budget, credit rating, property taxes, sales tax, Springfield

Fixing Illinois’ busted budgets: Spending cap amendments filed in House and Senate

By Austin Berg

02/08/2018

A proposal to tie state spending to what taxpayers can afford is earning bipartisan support in Springfield.

TAGS: balanced budget requirement, budget, Spending, Thomas Cullerton

State of the state: Illinoisans starving for certainty

By Austin Berg

02/08/2018

Mandating more reasonable spending growth is the first step in a journey back to solvency for Illinois. The cap provides certainty today for a more responsible state government tomorrow.

TAGS: Allen Skillicorn, balanced budget requirement, Bruce Rauner, budget, John Cullerton, Mike Madigan, Spending, spending cap, Tom Cullerton

Senate bill puts school-choice scholarships at risk for low-income kids

By Brendan Bakala

01/30/2018

The bill would cut off Illinois’ new tax credit scholarship program if the Illinois State Board of Education determined public school funding levels were inadequate.

TAGS: budget, education, Invest in Kids, school choice, vouchers

Restraining state spending means more certainty, security for Illinois families

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill, Joe Tabor

01/30/2018

State spending grew 25 percent faster than Illinoisans' personal income from 2005-2015.

TAGS: budget, income tax, personal income, Spending

The audacity of broke

By Austin Berg

01/25/2018

Illinois is broke. But leaders don’t act like it.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, budget, collective bargaining, Illinois General Assembly, outmigration, taxes