While the recently passed Illinois budget is being called balanced, Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) says it really is $630 million in overspending, according to a press release.
“Without the official constitutionally mandated revenue estimate, it is anyone’s guess as to how much overspending was just passed," Skillicorn said in the release. "However, the Commission on Government Financial Accountability (COGFA) estimated revenue for the 2019 Fiscal Year at $37.87 billion. And while COGFA has been historically high in its estimate, I’ll take that as a best guess. So taking the approved spending of $38.5 billion less the estimated revenue of $37.87 billion, using Rep. (Robert) Martwick’s calculator, [which] he so generously distributed to members, I get about $630 million in overspending.”
A Wirepoints article says that all budgets over the past decade have been considered balanced despite the fact that audited financial statements show that Illinois has lost about $10 billion on average each year.
Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee)
“According to some estimates, Illinois has not had a constitutionally balanced budget since 2001, leaving 2018 as another year where the only thing the Democratic majority appears to be consistent at is leading the state further into the ground,” Skillicorn said in the release.
Skillicorn, however, said there is hope to turn the state around.
“With serious reforms, Illinois could recover, but time is running out,” he said in the release.
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