From the Institute for Truth in Accounting
Northbrook, IL - On Friday Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes finally issued the State's financial report for its fiscal year ended June 30, 2008.
"As they saying goes, 'better late than never,'" commented Sheila Weinberg, founder & CEO of the Northbrook-based Institute for Truth in Accounting. "Just as Gov. Quinn committed the State to spending another $32 billion, the State financial report indicated that we were more than $82 billion in the hole."
The report, which was issued more than a year after the State's fiscal year end, indicated that each Illinois family's share of the State's debt is $20,850.During fiscal year 2008 the amount owed to the State employees' retirement plans funds increased by more than $12 billion.Illinois pension funds are underfunded by more than $54 billion.The financial report indicated that only $1.2 billion has been put away to pay for the $23.9 billion of health care benefits promised state retirees. These underfunding amounts do not include the massive downturn experienced in the market value of pension assets.
The financial report was issued more than a year after the fiscal year end."Public corporations are required to issue their financial statements two and half months after their year end," said the Institute's chairman, Roger Nelson. "The federal government lives up to this standard, why can't the state of Illinois?"
Even though Governor Blagojevich and the legislature claimed the FY 2008 budget was balanced, the income statement reported a deficit $3.5 billion. Weinberg noted, "For more than twenty years Illinois' governors and legislators have been saying the state's budgets have been balanced." She questioned, "Then how can we be more than $82 billion in the hole? How much further will the current 'balanced' budget put us in debt?"
For more information, contact Darlene Porteus at 847-835-5200 or visit www.truthinaccounting.org.
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