In 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the State of Illinois with securities fraud for misleading municipal bond investors about its pension funding obligations. The SEC’s investigation found that Illinois, between 2005 and 2009, misrepresented the risks associated with its pension funding schedule when offering more than $2.2 billion in municipal bonds. The state failed to disclose that its statutory plan significantly underfunded pension obligations, thereby increasing financial risks. In 2013, Illinois agreed to a cease-and-desist order to resolve SEC charges under Sections 17(a)(2) and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933.

As the national debate intensifies over the solvency of Social Security, Truth in Accounting (TIA) is urging policymakers and the public to look deeper: beyond “trust fund” projections and into the silent erosion of benefits through inflation.

Nevada has become the last state in the nation to release its annual financial report for fiscal year 2023, which ended more than 780 days ago. While Illinois finally published its overdue report earlier this month, Nevada continues to lag, as we are missing two years of data.

To make matters worse, Nevada’s state websites and phone systems have been down for several days due to a widespread cyberattack. This outage has blocked public access to crucial government services. It also makes it impossible for our researchers to verify the state’s financial position in the lead-up to the release of our Financial State of the States report. 

Illinois has finally released its audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).

The bad news:  It’s for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023.

According to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), states should release these reports within 180 days of the fiscal year’s end. Illinois blew past that deadline—releasing its 2023 report a staggering 774 days late, setting a new national record.
 

Illinois’ chronic delay in publishing its annual financial reports is more than just a bureaucratic hiccup. It’s a breakdown in fiscal accountability. The state’s fiscal year 2023 ended over two years ago, and yet that report has never been released. Fiscal year 2024’s report isn’t available either. In the corporate world, “timely” generally means publishing audited financial statements within 90 days. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) standard for governments is more lenient—180 days—but Illinois has blown far past even that generous benchmark. This level of delay would be unacceptable in nearly any other context where stakeholders rely on financial transparency.

At Truth in Accounting, we are wrapping up our annual Financial State of the States report—an in-depth look at each state’s financial condition based on their audited financial statements. This year, as in years past, we are relying on each state’s 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).

But here’s the problem: several states have yet to issue their ACFRs, and time is running out.

Illinois taxpayers still don’t have audited financials from fiscal year 2023, but the state’s comptroller says they’re working to speed annual reports up.

Truth In Accounting founder Sheila Weinberg said Illinois continues to be among the states with tardy financial reporting.

Truth-in-Accounting, a Chicago-based fiscal watchdog, has issued another in its series of reports on transparency in the states’ financial reporting.

Illinois, unfortunately, finished 50th in the ranking of all 50 states.

Meanwhile, a big-picture view of local finances, via the watchdogs at Truth in Accounting, suggests that the city council is as complicit as the mayor in not reining in big spending at the expense of the future. 

Earlier this year, the group reported a per capita debt of nearly $10,000 for every person in the city, which puts Jacksonville 60th out of 75 cities ranked. 

California’s inability to provide timely financial data is legendary. As TIA’s earlier report noted, as of August 31, 2024, California had not released its fiscal year 2023 annual financial report, making it the fifth year in a row California has been late submitting critical information.