Inside:
- $737 million state shortfall projected for next year
- Electricity price hikes could be on the horizon
- Firefighter credit bill passes committee
- More news
$737 million state shortfall projected for next year
The state of Illinois will fall $737 million short of the cash it needs in order to pay for all of Governor Pritzker’s proposed spending in the next fiscal year, according to a report from the non-partisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA).
Governor Pritzker proposed a $55 billion state budget, the largest in history, in his budget address last month.
CGFA expects the state to continue to have weak job growth in the private sector for the coming months. Slower job growth means less income tax revenue and cash flow to the state treasury. The slow growth is possibly due to Illinois’ long history of being unfriendly to job creators. Whatever the cause, the commission expects the state to fall short of its ambitious spending plans for the upcoming fiscal year which begins on July 1.
The commission found that while personal income tax receipts were 4.6% higher in the current fiscal year than they had projected, corporate income tax receipts were 12% lower than expected, and sales taxes were 3.3% lower.
Electricity price hikes could be on the horizon
Demand for Illinois electricity is on the rise, with the development of technological hubs such as data and artificial intelligence centers in the state. But as this demand grows, the state continues to call for the shutdown of some of Illinois’ power-generating capacity, such as the state’s coal and natural gas power plants.
Clean energy advocates are continuing their call for additional “green” energy sources, such as wind and solar. But these sources lack the reliability of the plants they would be replacing. In response to this concern, some advocates are calling for Illinois to invest in high-tension battery systems to store large amounts of electricity. The problem with this strategy is that the sustainability of these systems has not been conclusively demonstrated and their installation and operating costs will drive up the price of electricity even more.
Firefighter credit bill passes committee
Legislation I am sponsoring to help firefighters get higher educational credit for training they conducted as a firefighter has passed a House committee.
The House Higher Education committee passed House Bill 1149 by a 12-0 vote, and the bill is now awaiting action by the full House of Representatives. State law already makes it possible for those who have trained as emergency medical technicians to obtain similar college credit, this bill just extends the opportunity to firefighters.
This is my second bill to pass out of a House committee this spring, following House Bill 46, which will help ease the state’s shortage of day care workers.
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