Illinois

Pensions put Illinois’ 2024 budget in red by over $4B

Published

2 years ago

May 27, 2023

Pensions put Illinois’ 2024 budget in red by over B

Illinois state lawmakers shorted pensions by $4.1 billion and killed scholarships for low-income students, but gave themselves pay raises and a new office building. Their budget leaves no room for error as revenue projections drop.

Illinois state lawmakers approved a record-high $50.6 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2024 at 2:30 a.m. on March 27, despite no Republican support and three Senate Democratic caucus members voting “no” on the bill.

Lawmakers had originally anticipated passing the state budget and adjourning their spring session by May 19 but were hung up amid reported revenue declines and higher-than-expected costs.

Despite repeated claims by elected leaders that the budget is balanced, that claim ignores a massive unpaid bill: state pensions.

Appropriations to the five statewide pension funds will fall $4.1 billion below what the plans’ own actuaries have determined is required to actually begin paying off the state’s pension debt.

While Gov. J.B. Pritzker has touted his administration’s handling of the state’s pension crisis – including making $200 million in additional pension contributions in the 2024 budget – state budgets continue to shortchange pensions by billions of dollars annually. The effects of year after year of paying in too little has resulted in massive growth in pension debt, which now stands at $140 billion, according to state estimates.

It is likely much worse: independent estimates put the figure at more than $300 billion, using assumptions that are more realistic than the state’s optimistic projections. Refusal among elected leaders to consider constitutional pension reform or make full, actuarially determined contributions leaves the current budget inherently unbalanced and jeopardizes the ability of future budgets to deliver core services to Illinoisans.

Lawmakers also refused to take action to extend the Invest in Kids tax credit scholarship program that provides scholarship for 9,000 low-income students. That decision wasn’t driven by fiscal restraint. The program is capped at $75 million in income tax credits for scholarship donors, but at $330 million in donations since 2017 has cost significantly less than the maximum.

While members of the General Assembly decided not to extend a vital school choice program benefitting thousands of disadvantaged children – and with tens of thousands more on waitlists hoping to receive a scholarship – they did approve a $4,675 pay raise for themselves. The latest boost in legislator compensation comes after lawmakers gave themselves a nearly $13,000 raise in January.

Also included in the budget was $50 million dedicated to planning and design of a new legislative building to replace the Stratton Building where lawmakers have their offices. The full costs of replacing the building was projected at more than $250 million roughly 15 years ago.

Also missing from the 2024 budget is any meaningful contribution to the state’s Budget Stabilization Fund. In recent years, state budgets have taken advantage of finances buoyed by federal stimulus and a quick economic recovery to grow that rainy-day fund to a projected balance of $1.9 billion by the end of fiscal year 2023. State law currently requires a $45 million minimum contribution to the fund, however the fund’s balance remains insufficient.

At current levels, the budget stabilization fund could sustain less than two weeks of state spending. The Government Finance Officers Association recommends governments keep two months’ worth of general fund operating expenditures in their rainy-day funds.

This is especially troubling given that the 2024 budget leaves virtually no wiggle room between spending and anticipated revenues. While the Pritzker administration has said the $50.6 billion spending plan is balanced, Illinois has no formal revenue estimating procedure and details on current revenue projections have not been made publicly available.

Initial estimates of 2024 revenues from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget pegged total revenues at $47.6 billion. A later estimate used in Pritzker’s proposed 2024 budget projected $49.9 billion, after revenues began coming in higher than expected. The latest available estimate is $50.4 billion, by the legislature’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

Because there is no standard, agreed-upon procedure for estimating revenues, these estimates can become highly politicized and unreliable. From 2008 to 2020, the legislature’s projections were “on target” just five times while the governor’s office projections were right just twice. The National Association of State Budget Officers defines solid projections as being within 0.5% of actual revenues.

If revenues falter and fail to meet expectations, the 2024 budget would quickly fall out of balance, and perhaps eat all of the rainy-day fund. COGFA estimates of year-end 2023 revenue were already cut by more than $800 million after April state income taxes came in lower than expected. So far, their estimates for 2024 revenues remain virtually unchanged.

Even if revenues do come in as projected, there were multiple sleight-of-hand tactics used in the budget that could throw it out of balance and create future budget deficits. Primarily, the budget doesn’t account for the cost of a new American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees contract.

The current contract expires at the end of fiscal year 2023. The last time Pritzker and AFSCME were in contract negotiations they struck a deal that included $2,500-per-worker automatic bonuses, automatic 12% raises and taxpayer-subsidized platinum health insurance benefits that cost taxpayers $800 million more per year than a more modest proposal would have. This year’s contract negotiations will likely carry similar increases in costs, particularly after the passage of Amendment 1 last year greatly expanded the scope of collective bargaining in public-sector contracts.

The state’s budgeteers also only accounted for half of the cost of increased Medicaid provider reimbursement rates by choosing to begin rate increases in January 2024 – halfway through the upcoming fiscal year. Using this “creative” budgeting tactic hides the full cost of the decision, and will leave Illinois already grappling with a $317 million budget hole for 2025 – more than a year before that fiscal year even begins.

Illinois’ budgeting process is broken. The fact that no one beyond a select group of lawmakers – let alone anyone from the public – had even seen this 3,000-plus page document prior to a few days ago underscores just how very flawed this process continues to be.

Rather than patching a budget together at the last minute every year so the public and even other lawmakers have no time to read it, challenge it or improve it, state lawmakers should pursue reforms that will put Illinois in a better, more sustainable financial position.

Source link

Illinois

Illinois Coach Brad Underwood Won’t Blame Refs for Michigan State Loss

Published

2 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Illinois Coach Brad Underwood Won’t Blame Refs for Michigan State Loss

For all the scowls, snarls and shouts coming from the Illinois sideline Sunday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan, Illini coach Brad Underwood was, by comparison, a picture of zen-like contentment by the time he hit the postgame presser following his club’s 80-78 loss to Michigan State.

“Anybody in here expected anything different?” Underwood said with a weary smile to open his remarks. “A good college basketball game.”

Many Illini fans thought not. Social media was bustling in the aftermath with hot takes howling over the foul calls against Illinois and memes clowning the game officials. Illini guard Kasparas Jakucionis fouled out after just nine minutes of game action, and a critical technical foul was issued by referee Jeffrey Anderson on the Illinois bench in the late stages as the Illini were gamely clawing back into the game with Jakucionis on the sideline.

But when given the opportunity in his media session, Underwood – though disappointed – wouldn’t pile on.

“They teed our bench. Their guy was up, but our guys got the T,” Underwood said. “So I didn’t get the T – it was considered on our bench. Unfortunate. Two-point game. But Jeff’s a great official. He’s one of the best in the country.”

As for the whistles on Jakucionis, Underwood gave the officials further grace – mostly.

Kasparas Jakucionis fouled out with just three points on the day. pic.twitter.com/C39xjMWU5G
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) January 19, 2025

“I’m not gonna go there without … especially ’til I watch the film,” he said. “But the fourth one was awful. I’ll say that he got shoved in the back and pushed into a guy. And I mean, that one was just gross. Gross. I mean, how?”

If Underwood seemed oddly content as he offered his postgame thoughts, it’s likely because he could be observed extrapolating in real time what his Illini squad will be capable of when fully galvanized and facing something even slightly more favorable than Sunday’s dire game circumstances (including center Tomislav Ivisic playing through a nasty case of strep throat).

“I thought we handled a lot of tough situations today pretty well,” he said. “Best player in the game played [nine] minutes. You saw just a little bit of what he could do when he was in – just controlled the whole game with pick-and-rolls and passes. And, unfortunately, today he didn’t get a play.”

Michigan State Outlasts Illinois Basketball in Big Ten Slugfest

Michigan State’s Tom Izzo Compares Illinois Basketball to ‘Celtics or Lakers’

Illinois Basketball Makes Significant Moves in NET, KenPom Rankings

Source link

Illinois

WATCH: Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo Speaks After Win Over Illinois

Published

10 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

WATCH: Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo Speaks After Win Over Illinois

EAST LANSING, Mich. — No. 12 Michigan State got the test that many were waiting for when it hosted No. 19 Illinois on Sunday afternoon.

The Spartans passed the test, defeating the Fighting Illini 80-78 with an admirable second-half effort.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who had been quite critical of his team after its win over Penn State on Wednesday, was in much better spirits in his postgame press conference on Sunday.

You can watch below:

Below is a partial transcript from Izzo’s opening statement of his presser:

Izzo: “Wow, just another day in paradise, I guess. But I hope our fans appreciated one of the better games. I mean, it was a crazy game, and I know we were both complaining about calls and this and that, but I thought two teams really competed. I said this before the game, and now I’ll say it after the game: I really do believe they’re the best team in the league right now. I’m not slighting us,I’m not sliding Purdue, I’m not slighting Michigan or anyone else. I just think, right now, that was a tough teamto play. And we did make some mistakes early that really bothered us, because they were scouting report mistakes. And then we missed some free throws early, and they made some shots. I mean, the kid, [Will] Riley, has not been playing well lately, and he had 16 and a halftime. He was unbelievable. And you have Kasparas [Jakucionis], got in foul trouble, that helped us, I mean, there’s no question about it. I love the kid [Dra] Gibbs-Lawhorn, tough. I mean, they play hard – [Morez] Johnson – they play hard, but we did a hell of a job on [Ben] Humrichous. … Had a lot of good players. I thought we did a decent job on [Kylan] Boswell. We didn’t take many 3s, it was because of the way they guarded. We thought we could go inside, we did. We weren’t very good in rebounding in the first 10 minutes of the game. They scored 26 points. Second 10, they scored 10 points, and we ended up losing the rebound battle by 1. But that team is really good; we’re both 1, 2 in the league in rebounding.”

Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.

Source link

Illinois

3 Keys to an MSU Win Against Illinois

Published

17 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

The No. 12 Michigan State Spartans (15-2, 6-0) will be featured in a pivotal top 25 Big Ten matchup as they host the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini (13-4, 4-2) at the Breslin Center on Sunday afternoon. For the Spartans to win their 11th-straight, they will need to accomplish these three keys.

Limit Illini Freshman Guard Kasparas Jakucionis

The Illini possess one of the top players in the country and projected first-round pick in next year’s NBA Draft. Freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis is the real deal, leading the team in both points per game (16.7) and assists (5.4). He will be the one to cause issues against a strong Spartans defense.

Prior to joining Illinois, Jakucionis was the youngest person ever to play for the European powerhouse, Barcelona, of the ACB or Spanish Basketball Clubs Association. He holds strong experience overseas at the pro level and has the potential to be a star in the Big Ten and NBA.

It will be nearly impossible to silence the Illini’s best player, but slowing him down could be a factor in the game, especially with the lingering injury he may still have.

Jakucionis suffered a left forearm injury in the first week of January against Washington, missed the next two games, and quickly responded well with 21 points in their most recent game against Indiana. It will be telling in the first several minutes what his health status will be for the contest.

Spartans Three or More Scorers in Double Figures

The Spartans have thrived all season long in terms of scoring distribution and having multiple guys step up when they are needed. During their 10-game win streak, Michigan State has had three or more double-digit scorers in nine of those contests. They must find a way to get everyone involved.

The usual suspects have been senior guard Jaden Akins (14.2 ppg) and freshman guard Jase Richardson (9.6 ppg). It will be up to them to get the scoring started early and quickly work the rest of the roster into the scoring rotation, being effective all over the floor.

Keep Illini Under 80 Total Points

The biggest strength for this Illini team is its potent offensive attack. It is the No. 2 team in the conference in terms of average points per game at 87.3 and is the top team in the conference in point differential at +20. If the Spartans’ defense shows up, they will have a great chance to earn a win.

The magic number is 80 points for the Spartan defense. The Illini are 1-3 this season when scoring less than 80 points, the lone win coming against Oakland in a 66-54 final. They are an up-tempo group that must score big to win games.

With a Spartan offense that averages just over 81 points per game, they will need to hit their average while forcing a serviceable number of turnovers and keeping them off the board as much as. possible. Not to mention, the Illini are 14th in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (45%).

Source link