Political Rewind: Illinois is the Most Broke State in the Nation

Editor's Note: This article was created by aggregating news articles from Illinois Statehouse News that were written by various Illinois Statehouse News reporters.

Illinois 50 out of 50 in 2010 for state deficit

Illinois ended fiscal 2010 as the most broke state in the nation. 

Illinois owed $37.9 billion more than all of its assets combined, including cash, investments and property, as of July 1, 2010, according to a recent statewide financial audit by the Illinois Auditor General William Holland and Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka.

Illinois even shorted unknowing taxpayers of $1.4 billion. An examination of the Income Tax Refund Fund by auditors revealed a $1.4 billion deficit, because the state didn’t put enough income tax revenue into the fund, causing a delay in getting the taxes returned to individuals and businesses. 

The deficit would have been worse without a $3 billion cash infusion of federal stimulus money.

Bloodletting of workers’ comp system begins

The shakeup of the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board is one of the first of many changes in Illinois’ workers' compensation system as the state’s economic environment becomes more business-friendly.

State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, who sponsored the workers’ compensation legislation, described the 12 new board appointees as the start of a bloodletting prescribed by the General Assembly to heal the system. 

“I’m glad to see the governor appoint so many new faces and hope they will be able to implement not only the letter of the law but also the spirit of the law, which is to shake the system up and basically reinvent workers’ comp,” Bradley said. 

Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday announced the appointees, which include a mix of workers’ compensation attorneys, labor union representatives and business community members. 

Board members are expected to recommend workers’ compensation case arbitrators, who decide claims, and help guide the direction of workers’ compensation policy in Illinois.

Pay raise denial first of many budget’s tough choices for Quinn

Not only are pay raises in question for thousands of state workers in Illinois, but also whether Illinois has enough money to pay all of its workers for a full year.

Judges in Cook County Circuit Court and U.S. District Court in Springfield are being asked to decide whether 30,000 state workers will get their scheduled pay raises this year. 

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is trying to halt the raises — totaling $75 million — because he said the state cannot afford them. An arbitrator last week said Quinn could not block raises guaranteed in the 2008 contract with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME. 

But Friday, Cook County Circuit Judge Richard Billik halted the arbitrator’s ruling, pending arguments in his court, which are scheduled for Wednesday. AFSCME is seeking to enforce the 2008 contract in U.S. District Court.  

Lawmakers: Quinn needs to manage budget before asking for more

Illinois lawmakers say they knew the 2012 state budget didn't have enough money for pay raises, or much else, when the legislature wrote the spending plan in May.

Governor Pat Quinn says not only can the state not afford $75 million dollars for the pay raises for 30-thousand state workers. The budget doesn't provide enough to pay the rest of the state workforce for a full year.

Democrat Frank Mautino says lawmakers knew that, and they expected Quinn would "manage" the money.