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* My statewide syndicated newspaper column which ran during the spring break…
The Illinois Senate adjourned its session April 9 just after 3 a.m. The House adjourned about three hours later, as the sun was coming up.
This wasn’t the first time the chambers worked into the wee smalls to finish their work, including a budget, and it probably won’t be the last, but it’s getting to be a bit much.
Senate President Don Harmon told me afterward that, in the future, he would like to “avoid” adjourning session that late.
Harmon claimed that because of the “remarkably collaborative and cordial working relationship” among Democrats in the Statehouse, the willingness to accommodate each other and to try to make “late adjustments to deal with ideas that came from this part of one caucus or that part of another caucus,” all led to a very long night.
“In the old days,” Harmon said, “a prior speaker might have said, ‘Noon on Thursday, and we’re done.’ This time, we were trying to work and adjust and adapt and add and subtract things at the request of the caucuses. And it did lead to a schedule challenge at the end.”
I can understand that explanation, but it was still severe for a whole lot of folks. Start earlier.
OK, let’s talk about that state budget. I’m going to throw some numbers at you, but I’ll try to make this as simple as I possibly can.
If you want an idea of how crazy this fiscal year has been, just check the projected revenues when the Fiscal Year 2022 budget was enacted last year, and compare them to where they are now.
Last spring, budget-makers settled on a $44.4 billion total revenue projection for FY22. As of last week, that number had risen to a whopping $49.2 billion — an increase of more than $4.8 billion, or almost 11%.
The unanticipated new money didn’t come directly from the federal government. But it was no doubt a result of the federal economic stimulus programs.
The only debt pay down appropriation in the original FY22 plan last year was $928 million to repay interfund borrowing, and no tax breaks were included.
But now because of that new revenue, additional debt payoffs, a larger rainy day fund and mostly one-time tax breaks will total $5.3 billion this fiscal year, a $4.4 billion increase above the originally enacted spending plan (not including the payoff of federal COVID-related loans).
The end of year surplus had been projected to be $1 billion, but that money was rolled into the overall spending plan by the new supplemental FY22 appropriation, and the state will now end this fiscal year in June with just $68 million cash, but with $1 billion in its heretofore empty rainy day fund instead of the $600 million initially proposed.
The new fiscal year, which begins July 1, will see its projected revenues drop by $2.6 billion, or about 5.4 percent from the latest estimate for this fiscal year. But that’s still a 5% ($2.175 billion) increase over the FY22 estimate the budget-makers relied on last year.
Debt pay down and tax relief will fall from a high of $6.37 billion (including about $1 billion to pay off federal COVID-related loans) this fiscal year to just $640 million next fiscal year, a difference of $5.73 billion.
Non-discretionary spending will fall by $51 million net, but most of those spending top lines will see increases. That can happen because, as noted above, the state’s remaining $1 billion in COVID-related debt will be paid off by the end of this fiscal year. Pension payments and transfers out will each rise by about $300 million, and group health insurance payments will increase by about $400 million.
“Discretionary” spending — apart from debt pay offs and tax relief — will increase by about $2.6 billion ($22.289 billion this fiscal year compared to $24.867 billion next fiscal year). The increases include P-12 education ($550 million), higher education ($240 million), human services ($1.2 billion), public safety ($300 million) and general services ($225 million).
The end of the coming fiscal year may be tight on paper. General Fund revenues are projected to be just $2 million higher than total spending next year. Yes, the state will have $1 billion in its rainy day fund just in case, and the state’s bill payment cycle can easily be expanded well beyond its current two weeks.
But a worse than expected economic downturn could still cause some fiscal pain, although not nearly as much as in the days when the state had no cushion at all (or even no budget).
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 8:44 am
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This seems like solid fiscal stewardship from the governor. Let’s see how Irving complains about it.
Comment by Dankakee Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 9:04 am
=== and it probably won’t be the last, but it’s getting to be a bit much. ===
This was especially unnecessary because they were nowhere near a constitutional deadline that would have complicated legislating. But then again, making people suffer during the final days of session is tradition.
Comment by Norseman Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 9:18 am
After the Fair Tax was voted down, I was told “There will be cuts and they will be painful,” Pritzker said.
Comment by Jose Abreu's Next Homer Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 9:21 am
==The Illinois Senate adjourned its session April 9 just after 3 a.m. The House adjourned about three hours later, as the sun was coming up.==
I wonder if the big breakfast cafe places in Springfield, and the fast-food breakfast drive thrus, had a prepondrance of GA members and staff as customers early on the morning of the 9th.
Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 9:25 am
“ After the Fair Tax was voted down, I was told “There will be cuts and they will be painful,” Pritzker said.”
What’s your purpose in mentioning this? Are you mad that pain didn’t come to pass?
Comment by SWIL_Voter Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 9:36 am
===I was told===
So… you are/were cheering for Covid?
That’s an odd twist.
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 9:36 am
Good job.
Really nice to have a place to go to that gets around the spin of Dem and Republican talking heads.
This Sun Times article was about the most thoughtful and enlightening effort I read about the budget. It really covered a lot of data.
Of course, you can’t cover all the issues that the budget has in one column, but this column did a good job of being both objective and informative.
Comment by Back to the Future Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 9:43 am
===Are you mad that pain didn’t come to pass? ===
Ask the businesses who got hit with big tax hikes in 2021.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 11:36 am
One benefit of inflation is higher sales tax revenue, but the inflation bill will come due in the form of COLAs and each new contract that gets negotiated.
Comment by Chicagonk Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 11:38 am
=“ After the Fair Tax was voted down, I was told “There will be cuts and they will be painful,” Pritzker said.”=
I was told by the rightwing nuts that we had to cut everything because armageddon was coming.
Care to comment?
Comment by JS Mill Monday, Apr 25, 22 @ 12:47 pm
This all sounds like mostly good news - then I think about the other piece today on DCFS. What might have been done here differently?
Comment by joe Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 12:05 am