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2016/07/11 - Walter's Blog: Illinois "Stop-Gap" Bill

Democracy on the Front Lines
City Administrator’s Blog
Walter Denton

July 11, 2016

As everyone knows, the state government has not approved a budget in more than a year. There was a threat of a government shutdown when the new budget year began on July 1, but the state passed a last-minute “stop-gap” bill that keeps the lights on for a little while longer. The bill is not a budget, but does authorize spending for certain segments of the state government.

How does this affect the City of O’Fallon? Well, we receive funding and grants from the state that were threatened with the shutdown. The most visible example is the Milburn/Simmons Roundabout. We received a state grant for this project, and its completion was in jeopardy due to the possible shutdown. The stop-gap bill restored funding to all state-funded road projects so the roundabout construction continued without any delay and is still on schedule to be completed by August 5.

The Milburn School Road sidewalk and pedestrian bridge project also is under construction and will continue without delay. Two other projects experienced delayed starts because of the threatened shutdown: W. Hwy. 50 intersection improvements and I-64 Exit 14 interchange drainage improvements. They are now under construction.

In addition to road project funding, the stop-gap bill also restores funding to two important funding sources for the City of O’Fallon. The Motor Fuel Tax is distributed to cities on a per capita basis and is used by the City for road construction, maintenance, and snow removal. Video Gaming Tax revenue is also distributed to cities by the state and was reauthorized.

While the stop-gap bill restores some sense of normalcy, it is not a budget and is not a resolution to the state’s financial problems. It took care of some of the immediate problems (namely, school funding and capital projects) but does not address the $7 billion in bills to be paid, $2 billion in unpaid debts, and $110 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. The state only receives $110 million in daily revenue, so the Governor and General Assembly have a long way to go to achieve a balanced budget.