Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger’s office issued its Fiscal Year 2016 First Quarter report.
In the report, the “general fund payables” increased by more than $825 million versus the same quarter for the previous fiscal year. More importantly, Illinois started the new fiscal year with a checking account deficit of $3.013 billion, which does not bode well for the remainder of the fiscal year which ends in June.
Overall income tax revenues are down 22 percent for individuals and 24.5 percent for corporate revenues compared to the first quarter of FY 2015. Sales tax revenues showed a positive trend by ticking up 0.9 percent. Additionally, revenue shares from the federal government were up 9.9 percent.
Illinois has also increased spending on its Medicaid program by 74 percent during the first quarter of FY 2016.