GOMB Releases Five-Year Forecast Showing Significant Long-Term Challenges

Press Release

Despite making substantial progress on Illinois' fiscal challenges in Fiscal Year 2020, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has resulted in unexpected and dramatic revenue losses, and Illinois will also continue to face significant financial challenges until it finds a long-term solution to its long standing structural deficit, the annual Economic and Fiscal Policy Report from the Governor's Office of Management and Budget concludes.

As a result of these recent challenges and with the option for a graduated income tax now off the table, the Governor's Office of Management and Budget is projecting sizeable deficits in the General Funds budget for fiscal years 2022 through 2026. Without changes to the current trajectory of the state's finances, year-end accounts payable will continue to grow year by year, the report states.

"From day one I have been committed to providing a transparent accounting of our fiscal situation and have once again begun working with leaders in the General Assembly to address our challenges," said Governor JB Pritzker. "While we didn't anticipate a pandemic, we must now grapple with the economic hardship it has created while also preserving the vital state services Illinoisans rely on. I am committed to ensuring the state of Illinois returns to the path of fiscal stability we began to pave last year, while managing through this unexpected economic crisis responsibly."

Since taking office in January 2019, Governor JB Pritzker has taken multiple steps to control state spending and has ordered agency directors to continue to responsibly manage the limited resources of state government.

The Governor's Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) is required to annually submit an Economic and Fiscal Policy Report to the General Assembly outlining the long-term economic and fiscal policy objectives of the state, along with the economic and fiscal policy intentions for the upcoming fiscal year and for the subsequent four fiscal years.

The reports are available to the public online and can be found here: https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/budget/Pages/PolicyReports.aspx

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