Illinois..humm lets see;
January 13, 2011
Illinois Braces for Tax Increases
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The new income-tax rate would add about $1,040 to the tax bill of a family of four earning $60,000 a year, and the new corporate rate would move the state into the top 10 among corporate taxers nationally.
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The tax increases will begin to close a projected budget gap now estimated at $13 billion and expected to grow to $17 billion in fiscal 2012.
But the failure in the legislature of a proposed $8.75 billion restructuring bond means the state won't immediately be able to start paying off its backlog of about $6 billion in unpaid bills. That leaves hundreds of state vendors, including hospitals, sch
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Illinois's Tax Increase Has Business Fuming, Neighbors Courting - WSJ.com
Updated August 29, 2012, 6:55 p.m. ET
A Downgrade for Illinois
The worst credit rating aside from California.
On Tuesday, Standard & Poor's downgraded Illinois bonds to A from A-plus, with a continuing negative outlook. The credit rating agency singled out five years of budget deficits ranging from bad to worse to way worse. It now stands at $44 billion—another national record. S&P was also more troubled than the Springfield political class about $83 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. The legislature ended a special session on pension reform this week without, well, passing any reform.
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Review & Outlook: A Downgrade for Illinois - WSJ.com
November 22, 2012, 5:32 p.m. ET
Illinois the 'Unfixable'
Squeezy the Pension Python to the rescue. Or not.
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Here's some food for thought. The state estimates its unfunded pension liabilities at around $95 billion. But that rosy scenario is based on the assumption that pension investments earn some 8% a year. In fiscal 2012, the Teachers Retirement System had a 0.76% return, the State Employees Retirement System 0.05%, and the General Assembly Retirement System a negative 0.14%.
In July, Moody's MCO +2.01% proposed revising how pension funds calculate their discount rates, with the target for fiscal 2012 at a more realistic 4.1%. Under those assumptions, the gap is even wider than Illinois acknowledges. Meanwhile, the state's annual pension liabilities for 2013 are $5.9 billion, up from $1.6 billion a decade ago.
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Review & Outlook: Illinois the 'Unfixable' - WSJ.com
annnnnnd...
June 22, 2012 12:03 PM
Illinois Budget Crisis Worst In Nation, Auditor Finds
Illinois budget deficit skyrocketed to almost $44 billion, by far the worst in the nation, the state’s auditor said in report released this week.
The latest audit looked at the 2011 fiscal year, which ended last June. The deficit has more than doubled to $43.8 billion in four years. It stood at just over $20.8 billion in 2007, according to a report filed by auditor William Holland.
Looking at just the fund for general expenses, the state was $8.1 billion in the red in the red in 2011. Illinois ended the year with more the $4 billion in unpaid bills.
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Illinois Budget Crisis Worst In Nation, Auditor Finds « CBS Chicago
man those tax increases and progressive fiscal mgt. has really turned them around....

Next stop- Kalifornia.....