Rauner plan could cost suburbs 25% of reserves

When Gov. Bruce Rauner suggested withholding half of the municipal share of income tax revenues to shore up state finances, he assumed towns could absorb the loss by dipping into their reserves.

That’s easier said than done in some places, according to a Daily Herald analysis of reserves in 90 suburbs.

The reserves of the 90 suburbs analyzed averaged 60 percent of annual expenses. Besides Island Lake with its deficit, only West Dundee, Aurora and Hampshire reported reserves below the minimum suggested threshold. Hampshire reported reserves of just 1.1 percent of the village’s annual expenses last year. Four more towns — Antioch, Barrington Hills, Carpentersville and Prospect Heights — could drop below two months of reserves after an initial year of income tax cuts.

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