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New report shows cumulative State
deficit of $47.8 billion. This cumulative deficit of almost $48 billion
(nearly $4,000 per Illinois resident) comes from the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for FY 2013, released by
Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka and the Statewide Financial Statement Audit released by Auditor General Bill
Holland. The purpose of the figures
presented in the CAFR are to drill past the cash-flow situation of the State of
Illinois (which is what the “official” State budget looks at) and uncover the
gap between resources available and commitments made.
The majority of the gap consists of pension obligations and
commitments to pay health-care-related expenses to providers of services to
eligible patients, primarily Medicaid patients and State workers. This number is not a one-year deficit, but a
representation, on a balance-sheet basis, of the cumulative deficit that has
been building up over a multi-year period.
Almost two-thirds of the deficit has appeared during the past seven
years ($18.7 billion in FY06 to $47.8 billion in FY13), roughly coinciding with
the tenure of Gov. Pat Quinn.