March 19, 2010—Issue 9

TFI Wraps Up Successful 2010

Spring Legislative Conference

This week TFI welcomed their members to their Annual Spring Legislative Conference in Springfield.  Attendees enjoyed a legislative reception at the Inn at 835 followed by dinner and a keynote address by the Honorable Majority Leader of the House, Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago) on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, guests heard speeches from GOP Gubernatorial candidate and current State Senator Bill Brady (R-Bloomington) as well as from Governor Quinn’s Chief of Staff Jerome Stermer.  The main topic of discussion was the State’s perilous fiscal condition and each sides views on how they would address this situation as Governor. TFI President Tom Johnson finished off the day with an in-depth legislative report and analysis of the state’s dire fiscal condition including his reaction to the Governor’s proposed budget.  TFI would just like to thank all those who attended the conference and especially our sponsors as we could never pull off such a successful event without your generous support.  For those that were unable to attend….we missed you and hope to see you at our 2011 Spring Legislative Conference!

Decision in Provena Covenant Medical Center Property Tax Exemption Case

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled this week that the Illinois Department of Revenue was justified in revoking Urbana-based Provena Covenant Medical Center’s charity care property tax exemption back in 2004.  The decision has sent shockwaves throughout the country’s non-profit hospital systems as local, state and federal governments take a closer look at similar tax breaks and whether participating non-profit hospitals are meeting their charity care compliance standards.  You can read a summary and actual copy of the Supreme Court’s decision at the links provided below:

Summary:  click here

Full Court Opinion:  click here

Governor’s Jobs Tax Credit Passes House Committee

Governor Quinn’s proposed “Jobs Tax Credit” legislation passed out of the House Revenue Committee this week and now heads to the House Floor for further consideration.  Senate Bill 1578, as amended by House Amendment #1, would provide Illinois small businesses with a $2,500 tax credit per new employee hired in State Fiscal Year 2011.  The credit is only available to small businesses located in Illinois that employee no more than 50 full-time employees and the total credit amount awarded may not exceed $50,000,000.  You can view HA#1 to SB 1578 at the link provided here: click here

Recently Released Reports

A couple of new reports of interest have recently been released by both the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) and the Illinois Policy Institute:

FY 2011 Economic and Revenue Forecast and Updated FY 2010 Revenue Estimates   click here

March 2010 Financial Condition of the Illinois State Retirement Systems

click here

The Illinois Policy Institute’s Budget Solutions 2011 Report   click here