The Governor gave his State of the State address today, and he complained about money the State of Illinois has not received from the Federal Government.
I found his complaint comical due to the fact that local municipalities are owed money via the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF). The LGDF is a key mechanism by which state income tax revenue is distributed to local municipalities and counties.
The purpose of the LGDF is to provide cities and counties with a percentage of total state income tax collections to help fund essential local services—such as police, fire, and infrastructure—in lieu of local income taxes.
The LGDF, originally, was 10% of total state income tax collected. This percentage was reduced in 2011 and currently stands at 6.16% of individual income tax collections and 6.845% of corporate income tax collections.
I cannot tell you how many local leaders have told me that the LGDF needs to be restored to the original 10%. The governor should address LGDF before complaining about the alleged lack of federal funds.