Cook County's Budget: Long-Term Imbalance Leads to New Pain for Vulnerable Residents
Release: November 14, 2017
On October 11, 2017, the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to repeal a penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages. The FY2018 budget presented by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle had relied on the sweetened beverage tax to cover just over $200 million of the county's projected expenditures on services.
Illinois on Autopilot, the Reality of FY2016
Release: February 16, 2016
In both magnitude and meaning, state elected officials have no greater obligation than passing a General Fund budget into law. Consider magnitude first. Last fiscal year the General Fund budget provided for the expenditure of $35 billion. No question, that constitutes a sizeable expenditure of taxpayer money. It is also meaningful. While nearly $11 billion was targeted for Hard Costs like debt service and other legally mandated payments, over $24 billion was invested in current services across communities statewide. In fact, over 90 percent of FY2015 General Fund expenditures on services covered education (35 percent), healthcare (30 percent), human services (21 percent), and public safety (7 percent). To be clear, it is those services which provide for the basic health and well-being of the citizenry, and go to the very heart of why we elect a Governor and General Assembly in the first place.
By failing to pass a General Fund budget for FY2016, elected officials are basically punting the following difficult, but fundamental, responsibilities to:
- Make decisions about how to allocate scarce resources among the aforesaid four service priorities;
- Identify which of, and by how much, those services will be cut, despite their high priority, if the state’s current woeful fiscal condition is not addressed; or
- Raise the tax revenue needed to fund those core services to the amounts needed to satisfy demographically driven demand.
Illinois FY2013 General Fund Enacted Budget Analysis
Release: August 2, 2012
This Report provides an analysis of the enacted FY2013 General Fund budget.
Analysis of the FY2013 Proposed Illinois FY2013 General Fund Budget
Release: April 8, 2012
This Report provides an analysis of the FY2013 General Fund budget proposed by Governor Pat Quinn on February 22, 2012.
Ramifications of State Budget Cuts to Human Services
Release: March 22, 2012
This Report, co-authored by CTBA and the Social Impact Research Center, highlights the consequences of state budget cuts to human service programs.