In this issue:
- Revenue up in July, caution still warranted
- Update on gas price spike in northeastern Illinois
- Good turnout for senior fair
- Visit to state fish and wildlife area
Revenue up in July, caution still warranted
Illinois’ embattled state finances got some good news in July as state revenue increased by more than $300 million compared to July 2023. But it might be a bit early to celebrate.
Personal income tax revenue was up by $360 million, with just over $50 million going back out the door for refunds and state aid to local governments, which left an overall gain of $306 million compared to last year. The increase was driven by healthy consumer spending, something which can change quickly if households budgets are pinched by high gas prices (see below) or housing costs. Part of the increase was also due to a simple factor of the calendar: July 2024 had two additional work-week days of economic activity compared to July 2023.
Many have warned about the state basing its budgets on one-time revenue sources or other sources (like consumer spending) that may go up and down from one month to the next. Illinois has increased state spending by $13 billion in the past four years. We need to be more responsible with taxpayers’ money.
Update on gas price spike in northeastern Illinois
Drivers in northeastern Illinois, including northern portions of our district, saw a spike in gas prices due to the temporary shutdown of an Illinois refinery last month.
Exxon-Mobil’s Channahon refinery, which converts crude oil into motor fuel to the tune of about 250,000 barrels a day, was forced to adjust its operations after the tornado outbreak of July 15-16. The slowdown in production caused sharp increases in the price of various fuels throughout the Great Lakes region of the country, and led the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to take emergency action to encourage importation of fuel from other parts of the country to address the shortage.
This is especially bad timing. We are now moving into the peak of hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico, which has in the recent past seen storms which shut down large amounts of oil production and led to higher prices nationwide. Illinois is especially susceptible to these kinds of price spikes because we have some of the highest gas prices in the country, even under normal circumstances.
Good turnout for senior fair
We had good turnout for our senior fair in Morris last week.
Thank you to everyone who was involved; including the co-sponsors of the event, Senators Sue Rezin and Tom Bennett and Rep. Jed Davis; and everyone who stopped by. It was great to see the companies, organizations and other local vendors with their resources to help our seniors.
The event featured everything from tips on healthy living to blood pressure checks and even vaccinations.
Thanks to all!
Visit to state fish and wildlife area
Thank you to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for inviting me out to Goose Lake Prairie and Heidecke Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area on Friday! They are located in Grundy County just east of Morris.
We had conversations about hunting, fishing, outdoor activities that they offer, as well as discussions on roads and the new visitor center at Goose Lake Prairie.
Our current bill backlog
When a vendor provides the state with goods and services, they submit the bill to the Illinois Comptroller for payment. The Comptroller processes the paperwork and pays the bill when funds are available in the state’s checking account. Currently the total amount of unpaid bills is $1,610,696,158. This figure changes daily. Last year at this time the state had $1.4 billion in bills awaiting payment. This only includes bills submitted to the Comptroller for payment, not unfunded debts like the state’s pension liability, which is well over $100 billion.
Illinois headlines
American Red Cross short 19,000 blood donations in July
Illinois State Museum to close until fall
This is National Farmers’ Market Week. Find a farmers’ market near you
In month since SCOTUS bribery decision, Madigan-related corruption cases forge ahead
Does Illinois have a back-to-school sales tax holiday for 2024?