Fiscal Year 2004 Budget Wrap-Up

Governor Blagojevich entered his first term in office with a daunting task, fill a $5 billion budget hole without a general tax increase – a promise he made time and again on the campaign trail. The Governor stuck to his promise and closed the gap through a combination of one-time revenues, on-going tax and fee increases, administrative reforms and spending cuts. General Funds appropriations in this budget total $23.344 billion, an increase of 4.7% over the FY2003 budget level. This includes the additional $153 million the General Assembly tacked onto the Governor’s recommended appropriations for education ($101 million), higher education ($27 million), governmental services ($3 million), Medicaid/health and human services ($13 million) and public safety ($9 million). How are we paying for these increases while also closing the budget hole? This year, the state is relying heavily on one-time revenue enhancements.