The 21st Show takes a look at the new state budget. Host Brian Mackey is joined by Ralph Martire from the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and David Merriman, a professor in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Listen to the program HERE
Thousands of qualifying suburban parents could receive an income tax break next year due to the state’s first child tax credit included in the upcoming state budget.
The funding comes from increased tax rates on gambling, state officials said. The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, a Chicago-based nonpartisan government finance research group, has been advocating for a statewide child tax credit tied to the earned income tax credit since at least 2022.
Democrat and Republican lawmakers mostly had opposing views of the fiscal year 2025 budget that Gov. Pritzker just signed. Meanwhile, the real problem with state finances is a structural deficit caused by tax policy that doesn’t fit a modern economy. Ralph Martire’s column breaks down the numbers.
Ralph Martire’s column examines the FY 2025 Illinois state budget.
CTBA’s Ralph Martire is quoted in the state budget section
The Local Government Distributive Fund may sound dry, but local leaders say it plays a crucial role in keeping their cities, towns and villages afloat. GUESTS: Jerry Bennett, Palos Hills mayor, president of the Southwest Conference of Mayors and Ralph Martire, executive director, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability talk with Sasha-Ann Simons.
Center for Budget and Tax Accountability EBF report is cited which indicates paying the minimum $300 million would take the state until fiscal year 2034 to fully fund public schools in the state. Instead, it recommends upping that investment to $500 million per fiscal year which would move that timeline up to FY 2030.
A new report from the Illinois General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability estimates the state will receive nearly $31.4 billion in state income tax revenue in the next fiscal year that begins in July. CTBA’s Ralph Martire is quoted in the article.
Chicago Tribune references CTBA’s EBF report, “Fully Funding the Evidence-Based Formula: FY 2025 Proposed General Fund Budget “ in its CTU story.
Due to inflation and state lawmakers holding K-12 funding flat in 2020 during the height of the COVID pandemic, districts would not be adequately funded until 2034 if the state continues to only add $350 million to the evidence-based funding formula, according to a report from the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. “I think school districts will have to make some tough financial decisions in the next coming years,” said Elaine Gaberik, one of the co-authors of the report. “This goes back to showing how important the state funding is going to be in these next couple years.”