Public Act 92-0067 mandates that the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (CGFA) prepare and publish a BUDGET SUMMARY REPORT detailing Illinois’ most recently enacted budget. The report is to be made available to all citizens of the State of Illinois who request a copy. The summary report is to include information pertaining to the major categories of appropriations, issues the General Assembly faced in allocating appropriations, comparisons of appropriations from previous State fiscal years and other information related to the current State of Illinois Budget.
The following report fulfills this mandate. The report begins with a discussion of the budgeting process. The budgetary process is then summarized chronologically. A highlighting of the bills that constitute the budget follows, along with other major legislation passed during the past spring legislative session. A review of the previous year’s budget is then provided. The FY 2017 budget is summarized including a listing of appropriations by agency. Various areas of the budget and State government operations, such as Elementary/Secondary Education, Medicaid, and State pensions, are looked at in detail. The report concludes with a Glossary of Terms and a Description of the various funds.
The Illinois Constitution requires the Governor to prepare and submit a state budget to the General Assembly that includes recommended spending levels for state agencies, estimated funds available from tax collections and other sources, and state debt and liabilities. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), by statute a part of the Governor’s office, is responsible for estimating revenues and developing budget recommendations that reflect the Governor’s programmatic and spending priorities. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, by statute, is responsible for estimating revenues for the legislative branch of government.
