February 5, 2010—Issue 3

As David mentioned in our last issue of TFI report from the Capitol, he has moved on from the Federation to bigger and better things and is now part of the management team at the Illinois Department of Corrections.  We appreciate the many contributions he made to the Federation over the last three years and wish him well in his new responsibilities.  Scott Selinger, formerly with the Illinois Bankers Association, will be working with us this year to fill David’s shoes.   Please feel free to reach out to Scott to introduce yourself as he is getting his feet wet. 

The primary election is now over, at least the voting, if not the counting.  We will not report the results in this report, as we are sure you have been reading and viewing the media coverage and where things stand as this issue goes to print.  The Legislative process will now move into full swing.  The House was back in a rather quiet session this week and both Chambers will be back to work next week.  The deadline for introduction of bills in both houses is next Friday, February 11^th.    We will be closely reviewing new introductions over the next two weeks and reporting to you on the new initiatives focused on tax and fiscal issues.   As reported many times in the past, and in continuing reports from the media, the fiscal challenges facing the state are daunting.  The General Assembly is currently scheduled to adjourn on May 7^th, three weeks earlier than the normal schedule, so the next three months will be hectic.  We will be scheduling conference calls with our various committees and sub-committees as new issues are identified where we need your expert advice and perspective.

The Board of Trustees of the Federation, at its Board Meeting last week, adopted the following two position statements for 2010:

·         The Taxpayers’ Federation of Illinois 2010 Statement of Principles (not yet available on our website)

·         TFI’s 2010 position on Credits, Deductions & Exemptions: click here

Illinois Register

The Fourth Quarter, 2009 Sales and Miscellaneous Tax Sunshine Index was recently published in the Illinois Register. You can access the Index on page 1752 by using the following link:  click here

The Fourth Quarter, 2009 Income Tax Sunshine Index has also been published in the Illinois Register on page 2353 and can be accessed at the following link: click here

Recently Released Reports

The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability has issued its January 2010 monthly briefing which can be accessed here.