Center for Tax and Budget Accountability: Citizens Guide to the Illinois State Budget & Tax System
ITEP Work in ActionThe Illinois State Budget is the state’s fundamental policy document. It defines what programs and services will receive financial support from the state.
In a standard, non-overtime legislative year, Illinois adopts its budget on a fiscal year basis, beginning on July 1 of each calendar year and ending on June 31 of the next succeeding year. In the last, complete state fiscal year (FY) 2007, the total budget for Illinois state government was $48.5 billion. The state’s total budget, however, is actually comprised of several different funds. Because of this, not all $48.5 billion is available for the General Assembly to spend on any public service deemed appropriate. Instead, almost half of the state’s total budget is comprised of three special funds and bond proceeds that can only be used for either very limited statutory defined purposes or the projects identified in the underlying bond. Figure 1 shows the general breakdown of the various funds which together constitute the state’s total budget.