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State budget
PI Original
by Adam Doster
2:29pm
Fri Jan 8, 2010
2 comments

A Small Mental Health Success, But Problems Remain

Health Care

Good news is hard to come by these days at Chicago's mental health clinics. That's why it was encouraging to see Joanna Broder's piece in the Tribune earlier this week about the Community Mental Health Council Inc. on the city's South Side. After losing about $2.3 million ...

PI Original
by Angela Caputo
5:05pm
Thu Jan 7, 2010
1 comment

Mounting IOUs, Declining Revenues, And The Need For Action

Taxes

The bad budget news just keeps rolling in. Yesterday, Comptroller Dan Hynes released his latest report (PDF) on the state's finances. As Capitol Fax's Rich Miller put it, the situation has become "pretty much hopeless."

Not only has the backlog of unpaid bills now ...

PI Original
by Angela Caputo
3:28pm
Wed Jan 6, 2010

Number Of The Day: $750 Million

Dan Hynes

Yesterday, word quickly spread that some relief could be on the way
to cash-strapped universities, human service agencies, and other
Illinois vendors anxiously awaiting
a collective $5.1 billion in overdue state payments.  Gov. Pat Quinn
confirmed that by week's end, ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
2:31pm
Tue Jan 5, 2010

IL-GOV: New Ads From Hynes And Quinn

State budget

The race between Gov. Pat Quinn and Democratic challenger Dan Hynes continues to heat up and the early release controversy is serving as the spark.

After blasting Quinn in a weeks-worth of interviews and filing
a second Freedom of Information Act request to obtain a ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
4:12pm
Mon Jan 4, 2010
1 comment

Simpson On The Impending "Meltdown"

State budget

Whether it's the growing potential that education budgets will be slashed
across the state or just common sense, several University of
Illinois-Chicago professors are correctly sounding the alarm about
Illinois' deficit crisis. On WTTW's Chicago Tonight, public policy ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
11:17am
Wed Dec 30, 2009
4 comments

The State Budget Fallout Continues

State Legislature

The new year isn't likely to bring relief to schools and social service agencies struggling to stay afloat while the state fails to fulfill its obligations on time. The General Assembly is not expected to take up a tax reform bill that would inject revenue into state coffers. ...

PI Original
by Josh Kalven
10:55am
Mon Dec 28, 2009
1 comment

Compare And Contrast These Budget Stories

State budget

Here is the Tribune's Rick Pearson today on the gubernatorial candidates' proposed budget fixes:

Among all the issues facing Illinois' next governor, there is no
greater divergence among the Democratic and Republican candidates in
the Feb. 2 primary than on ...

PI Original
by Adam Doster
11:44am
Wed Dec 23, 2009
6 comments

A New Legislative Session On The Horizon (But Will Anything Change?)

State budget

No is expecting lawmakers to tackle the problem of the budget
deficit when the General Assembly reconvenes on January 12. Without any
Republican support, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) refused
to put any muscle behind the various income tax increase bills ...

PI Original
by Angela Caputo
5:20pm
Tue Dec 22, 2009

Illinois Schools And Universities Head Towards "The Cliff"

State Legislature

In just six months, the stimulus funding that helped buoy state
governments and keep school districts solvent will disappear. While
there has been plenty of debate
over how many teaching jobs the money has preserved or created here in
Illinois, the consensus among ...