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To:
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Chemical Industry Council of Illinois (CICI) Members
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From:
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Mark Biel, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected] or 217/522-5805
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Re:
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update – Preliminary State Budget Shortfall Projections; SOCMA Webinar on Tax Credits & Available Capital During COVID-19; Update on COVID-19 Cases; and CICI COVID-19 Webpage
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Preliminary State Budget Shortfall Projections. At his daily press briefing, Governor Pritzker presented some preliminary figures as to what the state of Illinois is projecting to lose in terms of revenue for the current fiscal year and next fiscal year. So far, state economists are predicting a $2.7 billion shortfall in general revenue, which is largely made up of income tax, sales tax, and gaming revenues. Part of this projection is due to the fact that tax filing deadline has been pushed back from April 15, which falls in the current fiscal year, to July 15, which is in the next fiscal year 2021. Predictions for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2020, will be $4.6 billion short of previous estimates. However, because of Governor Pritzker’s short-term borrowing to immediately deal with the COVID-19 crisis, which will need to be paid back, the total shortfall for FY 2021 could rise to $6.2 billion when compared to the budget plan he presented this past February. It was also predicted this FY 2021 shortfall could increase to $7.4 billion if the constitutional amendment to enact a graduated income tax fails at the ballot box this November. Governor Pritzker then went on to claim that, now more than ever, voters need to approve this measure.
If these figures are not challenging enough, it does not take into consideration that the state’s finances were already a mess. The state has historically carried a structural debt well in the billions of dollars and currently has a $7.9 billion backlog of unpaid bills, and a credit rating just one notch away from junk status. This is the absolute worst possible time for such a catastrophe to hit the state and we are among the least prepared states to weather such an economic and financial storm. As a result of this fiscal calamity, the governor has ordered his agency directors to look for numerous budget cuts.
As for the state’s budgetary costs of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly $174 million has already been expended. Much of this spending is concentrated on purchasing PPEs for frontline workers and ventilators for patients. The Governor also mentioned today that he has directed nearly $500 million in additional spending authority to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) through the emergency powers granted under his disaster proclamations.
Pritzker further remarked that federal funding is expected to cover most of the costs the state is incurring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While states are slated to receive federal funding to address costs associated with the pandemic, this funding cannot be used for the broader impact of COVID-19 on state revenue. Pritzker did remark that he and many other governors are calling on Congress to enact additional aid packages to provide funding to states to lessen these unprecedented, nationwide revenue losses.
SOCMA Webinar on Tax Credits & Available Capital During COVID-19: This Friday, April 17, CICI National Association member, the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) and its affiliate member, alliantgroup, will be hosting a webinar on tax credits and available capital during COVID-19. The webinar will run from 2:00-2:30 pm eastern time. You can register at SOCMA Webinar. Registration is open to everyone.
Leading this week's webinar are two members of alliantgroup’s senior management team, Steven Miller, former IRS Acting Commissioner, and Dean Zerbe, former Senior Counsel to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.
Update on Cases:The Illinois Dept. of Public Health (IDPH) is now reporting a total of 948 deaths, an increase of 80 deaths since yesterday. There are currently 24,593 positive cases of COVID-19 in Illinois, which is an increase of 1,346 from yesterday.In total, 116,929 people have now been tested in Illinois for the virus, which is an increase of 6,313 from Tuesday. Of those people tested, 21% of the results are positive for COVID-19. This percentage did not increase from yesterday, which has lately seen a daily 0.2% increase.
You can check where these cases are occurring at the State of Illinois COVID-19 website which also contains more information on this outbreak. Also, IDPH has a case breakdown of the number of positive cases in Chicago and each county relative to the number of fatalities. The IDPH website also now includes a breakdown of the cases under each zip code in the state. In addition, Western Illinois University has an put together this Map of COVID-19 Cases in Illinois & Surrounding States which gives you picture of where COVID-19 cases are occurring in relation to areas surrounding Illinois.
Worldometer also has a site with pertinent statistics on a state by state breakdown and comparison. Also, the City of Chicago has a good categorization of the cases within the city.
CICI COVID-19 Webpage: CICI has updated it’s website to include a webpage devoted to all of the COVID-19 Updates sent out to the membership as well as all of the informational and guidance documents from both government, and the various resources offered by CICI Affiliate & Associate members and can be accessed at CICI COVID-19. In addition, the search engine at www.cicil.net is another good resource for finding information on this outbreak and other CICI publications and activities.
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