Illinois, which has seen a vast improvement in its financial outlook over the last year, expects a bigger surplus this fiscal year and smaller gaps in the next four annual budgets thanks to a quicker than expected recovery in revenues and billions in federal aid.
The state’s fiscal 2022 budget surplus will be $418 million, up from an earlier estimate of $88 million, as revenue from sales and income taxes increased more than previously anticipated and after the state taps about $2 billion of its more than $8.3 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funding, according to a report Tuesday from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. Deficits will return from fiscal 2023 through 2027 but will be smaller than previously expected, according to the report.
