Illinois’s budget basics

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), Illinois’s total expenditures in fiscal year (FY) 2021 were $87.5 billion, including general funds, other state funds, bonds, and federal funds. NASBO reported that total expenditures across all states in FY 2021 were $2.7 trillion, ranging from $4.7 billion in Wyoming to $512.8 billion in California.

Each state allocates spending and taxes differently among different levels of governments, and local governments often administer programs with state funds, so combined state and local government data show a more complete picture of individual benefits and contributions when comparing states.

Per the US Census Bureau, Illinois’s combined state and local direct general expenditures were $124.0 billion in FY 2019 (the most recent year census data were available), or $9,792 per capita. (Census data exclude “business-like” activities such as utilities and transfers between state and local governments.) National per capita direct general expenditures were $10,161.

Illinois’s largest spending areas per capita were elementary and secondary education ($2,280) and public welfare ($1,899). The Census Bureau includes most Medicaid spending in public welfare but also allocates some of it to public hospitals. Per capita spending is useful for state comparisons but is an incomplete metric because it doesn’t provide any information about a state’s demographics, policy decisions, administrative procedures, or residents’ choices.

Illinois’s combined state and local general revenues were $128.4 billion in FY 2019, or $10,138 per capita. National per capita general revenues were $10,563. Illinois uses all major state and local taxes. Illinois’s largest sources of per capita revenue were property taxes ($2,339) and federal transfers ($1,886).

Illinois’s politics

Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, was elected in 2018 with 55 percent of the vote. The next gubernatorial election is in 2022.

Democrats control both the House of Representatives (73 Democrats to 45 Republicans) and Senate (41 Democrats to 18 Republicans), with veto-proof majorities in both houses. Control of the governor’s mansion and each house of the legislature gives Democrats a trifecta in Illinois. All Illinois House seats are on the ballot in 2022 because representatives serve two-year terms. Senators serve a combination of two- and four-year terms during each decade’s legislative district apportionment cycle. This 2-4-4 term system ensures all Senate seats are up for election after new legislative district boundaries are drawn. All senators are therefore up for election in 2022.

Illinois’s budget institutions, rules, and constraints

Illinois uses an annual budget. The legislature must pass a balanced budget, but it can carry a deficit over into the following year. The state does not have any tax or expenditure limits (a temporary expenditure limit expired in 2015), but there are limits on total authorized debt incurred by the state (but not on debt service).

(Note: Some states have informal budget institutions that constrain overall spending growth or a specific expenditure’s growth.)

Illinois’s current budget

Governor Pritzker has released his FY 2023 budget proposal and gave his state of the state address in February 2022. The FY 2023 budget was enacted in April 2022.

Illinois enacted its FY 2022 budget in June 2021. The enacted budget included $110.7 billion in total spending and $41.3 billion in general fund spending.

Under the American Rescue Plan, Illinois will receive $8.1 billion in direct state fiscal aid and $5.2 billion in local government aid from the federal government. As of January 2022, Illinois had spent part of its ARP funds on capital construction, economic development, and public health programs.

According to NASBO, Illinois’s recent expenditure totals (general fund spending/total spending, including federal transfers) were:

• FY 2021: $37.7 billion/$87.5 billion

• FY 2020: $36.1 billion/$77.8 billion

• FY 2019: $36.4 billion/$71.8 billion

For more on Illinois’s budget, see

• the Illinois Office of Management and Budget (Office of Governor),
• the Illinois State Comptroller, and
• the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

Illinois’s economic trends

Illinois’s per capita income (per the Bureau of Economic Analysis) was $67,095 in 2021, ranking 11th among the states. It was above both the national average of $63,444 and the Great Lakes regional average of $59,346. The state’s median household income (five-year estimate) was $68,428 in 2020, ranking 17th among the states and above the national average of $64,994. Illinois’s poverty rate was 12 percent in 2020 (five-year estimate), below the national rate of 12.8 percent.

Although Illinois’s averages tell a story about the entire state, Illinois is composed of diverse localities. For example, the city of East St. Louis’s median household income was $24,009, and its poverty rate was 30.6 percent; the city of Wilmette’s median household income was $161,765, and its poverty rate was 3.3 percent.

Illinois’s unemployment rate has historically been above the national average, and in recent years it has been among the highest in the country. (See how COVID-19 is affecting state employment and earnings data.)

Unemployment rates (like other economic indicators) often vary significantly by race and ethnicity. In Illinois, the average unemployment rate in 2021 was 5.1 percent for white residents, 12.3 percent for Black residents, and 6.9 percent for Hispanic or Latino residents. (This is preliminary data. See the 2020 data for a more detailed breakdown of state unemployment rates by race and ethnicity.)

The major industries that contributed the most to Illinois’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 were finance, professional services, manufacturing, government, and social services (i.e. health and education). Finance and professional services contributed more to Illinois’s GDP than they did to the nation’s and region’s GDP, while government was less important to Illinois than it was to the nation and region in 2020.

Looking at more specific industries, among those that accounted for at least one percent of Illinois’s GDP in 2019, insurance carriers produced far more for the state than for the nation, contributing 5.2 percent to Illinois’s GDP and 2.9 percent to the nation’s. Other industries that overperformed in Illinois relative to national averages in 2019 were wholesale trade, machinery manufacturing, legal services, and chemical manufacturing.

Illinois’s demographics

As of July 2020, Illinois’s population was 12,587,530. That was down 2 percent from 2010. For comparison, the nation’s population experienced 6.5 percent growth over the same period. The Urban Institute estimates the state’s population will increase 5.4 percent between 2010 and 2030, less than the nation’s estimated growth rate of 16 percent.

Additional resources

• The State and Local Finance Initiative’s Backgrounders explain the tax and spending issues highlighted in these briefs.
• The State Economic Monitor presents updated data and customized visualizations of state economic indicators.
• State and Local Finance Data: Exploring the Census of Governments allow users to sort, customize, and download the Census of Governments State and Local Finance series data featured in these summaries.
• The State Tax and Economic Review series provides quarterly reports on state tax collections and underlying economic trends in all 50 states.
• The Urban Institute’s State Tax Data Subscriptions provide access to up-to-date revenue data in all 50 states.