Illinois ended 2011 with a better financial situation than it faced a year earlier. However, the state began the year with a hole so deep that not even a massive tax increase and drastic spending cuts could come close to filling it. In this chapter, we use a carefully constructed model of the...

Illinois has a chronic, structural fiscal problem so huge that it cannot be eliminated by increases in economic growth alone, increases in taxes alone, or—alas— aggressive pension changes alone.1 In early December 2013 the General Assembly passed, and Governor Quinn quickly signed, a major...

New analysis by the Fiscal Futures Project finds that Illinois’ budget impasse has put spending on autopilot while revenue is down significantly. This perfect storm of decreased revenue and uncoordinated spending is causing uneven allocations and exacerbating an already massive budget deficit....

Illinois' public pensions are among the worst funded in the nation. We present evidence that the main reason for Illinois' underfunding is a history of making inadequate contributions, dating back to the origins of the state's pensions. We discuss the recent history and legal status of pension...