State Stix

Deja vu '82?

The year-end general funds balance on June 30 was $287,963 million, and the average daily available balance in June was $268,133 million. Both were above the $200 million warning mark, but Comptroller Roland W. Burris was not impressed.

Fiscal 1986 general funds spending: $10,774 billion. Fiscal 1986 general funds revenue: $10,583 billion. The difference? about $191 million.

Expenditures in fiscal 1986 were 7.2 percent higher than in fiscal 1985; revenues were 2.6 percent higher.

The comptroller's opinion: The fiscal 1986 budget was unbalanced no matter which way you look at it.

Ending balance: $191 million in the hole. That's the difference between the general funds balance on June 30, 1985, and June 30, 1986. Under this concept the state has had a balanced budget in five years out of the last 10. The comptroller said that the governor this year used his authority to transfer funds and to delay or expedite the processing of state revenues to swell the year-end balance and postpone the symptoms of fiscal problems until fiscal 1987.

Budgetary balance: a shortfall in the neighborhood of $200 million. That's the difference between lapse period spending (about $490 million according to the comptroller's estimates) and the fiscal 1986 year-end balance of $288 million. Using this concept, Illinois has had a balanced budget twice in the last 10 years — fiscal 1979 and fiscal 1985.

Budget balanced by the General Assembly: $510 million in the red. Using this concept, the budget is balanced if the amount available for appropriation is equal to or greater than the amount appropriated. That has not happened once in the 10-year period.

Look at the bright side

The fiscal 1986 end-of-year Roads Funds balance was $218 million, the highest in Illinois history.

(Source: Comptroller's Report, July 1986.)

Illinois led the nation with 104 new manufacturing plants in 1985 and was second in plant expansions with 85. We also came in seventh with new hotels, 28 in all — 21 of them in Chicago.

(Source: Industrial Development and Site Selection Handbook, February 1986.)

As of July 29, Illinois had received $102.5 million as its share of fines against oil companies for overcharges. Another $35 million will come, and there's a chance for $60 million more.

(Source: Office of the Governor.)

And we can bankroll the state with Lotto. Even though lottery sales showed little growth this year (a disappointing 6.7 percent), they still grew faster than the GNP. Lottery players provided a record $552 million to general funds in fiscal 1986. (Source: Illinois State Lottery)

Population went up! Illinois had 11,511,000 people as of July 1, 1984, an increase of 37,000 or about 0.3 percent since July 1983. The increase surprised some demographers and may indicate the employment picture in Illinois is not as bad as was thought, or it may indicate that there is no place to flee to. (Source: Statistical Abstract of the U.S. 1986, Bureau of the Census.)

Backpackers: As for outdoor recreation, Illinoisans spent most on fishing — $478,316 million — in 1985. followed by golf — $398,760 million.

They put out $337,991 million to go motorboating and $298,273 million to camp.

$262,652 million to bicycle.

$258,096 million to ride around in off-road vehicles.

$240,242 million to swim in swimming pools.

Even birdwatchers kicked in $105,217 million.

Illinois backpackers spent a crummy $4,508 million.

(Source: Highlights of Economic Significance of Recreation in Illinois Study, April 1986. Department of Conservation.)

Tractors: You can no longer buy a 100-horsepower tractor that has been completely assembled in the United States.

(Source: Robert W. Keis, head of the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development via SIU Country Colummn, May 20. 1986.)

Comparable worth: Comparative manpower costs per hour: USA, $8-13; Singapore, $1.75; Jalisco, 91 cents; Malaysia, 49 cents. (Compiled by the National Bank of Mexico.)

(Source: Industrial Development and Site Selection Handbook. April 1986.)

Illinois unemployment: The national seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.1 percent in June and 6.9 percent in July. Illinois' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.0 percent in June and 7.8 percent in July.

The total Illinois civilian work force in June consisted of 5.733 million people; of these 5.273 million workers had jobs — a new record — and 460,000 were unemployed. In July the state's civilian work force was 5.722 million people; the number of people with jobs did not change, and the number of people unemployed dropped to 449,000.

The final unemployment rates for April and May in the state's metro areas were: Aurora-Elgin, 6.4 percent in April and 7.0 percent in May; Bloomington-Normal, 5.9 percent, 6.2 percent; Champaign-Urbana-Rantoul, 4.8 percent, 4.6 percent; Chicago, 7.5 percent; 7.6 percent; Davenport-Rock Island-Moline (Illinois sector), 11.7 percent; 10.4 percent; Decatur, 11.1 percent, 11.5 percent; Joliet, 7.5 percent, 7.5 percent: Kankakee, 11.1 percent; 10.9 percent; Lake County, 5.1 percent; 5.2 percent; Peoria, 9.2 percent, 9.3 percent; Rockford, 9.0 percent; 9.0 percent; Springfield, 6.0 percent; 5.7 percent; St. Louis (Illinois sector), 8.9 percent, 9.2 percent.

(Source: Illinois Department of Employment Security.)

August & September 1986/IlIinois Issues/63