Illinois

Report gives Illinois’ finances an ‘F’grade

Published

2 years ago

October 26, 2022

Report gives Illinois’ finances an ‘F’grade

GLENCOE, Unwell. — Illinois ranks close to the underside of a brand new evaluation of state funds throughout the U.S.

Reality in Accounting’s thirteenth annual Monetary State of the States ranked Illinois forty eighth within the nation, the identical rank as final yr. Solely two different states, New Jersey and Connecticut, graded worse than Illinois for fiscal well being. The overview is of the states’ fiscal yr that ended June 30, 2021.

The report notes that Illinois had about $39 billion out there to pay practically $250 billion price of payments, a shortfall that breaks right down to a burden of $49,500 per taxpayer. Consequently, the state receives an “F” grade for its state funds.

Reality in Accounting famous that Illinois was extraordinarily tardy when releasing its annual monetary report. Illinois launched its report greater than 356 days after the top of the fiscal yr, when the usual for timeliness is 180 days.

The report says Illinois’ monetary issues stem largely from unfunded public worker retirement obligations. Christine Kuglin, director of the Reality in Accounting Undertaking at The College of Denver, stated 2021 was useful for pension returns, however issues have taken a flip for the more serious.

“These are topic to the identical sorts of market fluctuations that we who’ve our personal non-public pension funds, the governments are the very same,” Kuglin stated.

Though pension liabilities decreased by $12.1 billion in 2021 as a result of improve in funding worth, the report stated a lot of the worth improve is simply on paper. Till the pension investments are bought, these legal responsibility decreases should not actual.

The report notes that Illinois had solely put aside 45 cents for each greenback of promised pension advantages and one cent for each greenback of promised retiree well being care advantages. If advantages and funding should not modified, future taxpayers will likely be burdened with paying the under-funded retirement guarantees.

Most governments have little or no cash to pay promised pension advantages as a result of they observe a pay-as-you-go strategy, the report stated, paying an quantity every year equal to the advantages distributed or claimed in that yr. The pay-as-you-go strategy pushes present compensation prices and liabilities onto future taxpayers.

The Illinois Academics’ Retirement System this week stated the fund’s long-term funded ratio has improved, racing practically 44% on the finish of fiscal yr 2022, regardless of shaky funding markets and uncertainty within the international financial system. The TRS Board of Trustees gave preliminary approval to a $6.04 billion state authorities contribution for the System in fiscal yr 2024. That’s a 2.5% improve from the $5.89 billion for the fiscal yr that ends June 30, 2023.

Source link

Illinois

Police shooting leaves man dead in North Riverside, Illinois

Published

27 minutes ago

January 13, 2025

Press Room

Police shooting leaves man dead in North Riverside, Illinois – CBS Chicago

Watch CBS News

Police said an officer shot a man wielding two knives to protect another person in an incident on Cermak Road.

Source link

Illinois

Some Illinois taxpayers will be able to file 2024 taxes for free with IRS program

Published

12 hours ago

January 12, 2025

Press Room

Some Illinois taxpayers will be able to file 2024 taxes for free with IRS program

Nearly 2 million eligible Illinois residents will be able to file their 2024 federal tax returns for free using a new IRS program.

State officials announced that Illinois will participate in the IRS Direct File service which begins on Jan. 27.

Direct File was first launched as a test program last year. This year, the program will become a permanent option with participation in 25 states.

A simplified process

The IRS estimates that more than 30 million people will be eligible to use the program during the 2025 tax filing season.

State officials said the IRS Direct File option will simplify the filing process for eligible taxpayers.

“We understand that a significant amount of time and money is spent every year to ensure personal income tax returns are filed accurately and on time,” said David Harris, the director of the Illinois Department of Revenue, in a statement. “This integration will help relieve stress and financial burden for taxpayers.”

Direct File is an online service that’s available on mobile phones, laptops, tablets or desktop computers.

The service provides a checklist and a guide to help navigate the process. Users will have access to a chatbot for guidance in both English and Spanish.

For more information on eligibility and how to use the service, visit irs.gov/filing/irs-direct-file-for-free.

NewsIllinoisPersonal FinanceMoney

Source link

Illinois

Illinois State Police trooper hurt in multi-vehicle crash near Chicago

Published

23 hours ago

January 12, 2025

Press Room

Illinois State Police trooper hurt in multi-vehicle crash near Chicago

(25News Now) – An Illinois State Police trooper was hurt in a five-vehicle crash Saturday morning in the Chicago suburb of South Barrington, but there are conflicting reports about the severity of the trooper’s injuries.

State Police said the trooper was heading to an accident scene to help with traffic control at Illinois Route 59 and Higgins Road. Police said the trooper activated his emergency lights and sirens, but was struck by another vehicle at the intersection about 9:45 a.m.

The trooper suffered critical injuries, according to a release from the East Dundee and Countryside Fire Protection District, but State Police said the trooper’s injuries were not life-threatening.

The fire department said it took almost a half-hour to extricate the trooper from his heavily damaged vehicle.

Fire crews said it took almost a half-hour to extricate an Illinois State Police trooper from his heavily damaged squad car on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in the Chicago suburb of South Barrington.(East Dundee and Countryside Fire Protection District)

Authorities said two people from other vehicles were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

State Police are investigating.

Saturday’s accident happened less than a month after State Police Trooper Clay Carns was killed in a crash on I-55 in Will County.

The 35-year-old officer left his squad car to pick up debris from the roadway when he was struck by a passing pickup truck two days before Christmas. The truck’s 69-year-old driver was cited for not moving over to avoid hitting Trooper Carns.

You can watch 25News – any newscast, anywhere – streaming LIVE on 25NewsNow.com, our 25News mobile app, and on our WEEK 25News SmartTV streaming app. Learn more about how you can get connected to 25News streaming live news here.

Source link