By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The people with the sharp pencils are bringing into focus how much money Illinois is bringing in for the fiscal year ending June 30. And it’s a little more than earlier believed.

The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability said Tuesday it expects the state to receive $52.6 billion this year, up from $51.9 billion earlier estimated.

The difference of $700 million is not that much, in a world in which $700 million is not that much.

And the grey skies have yet to materialize, says COGFA’s executive director, Clayton Klanke.

“The national economic forecasting firms had projected a fairly good chance of a recession looming on the horizon,” Klanke told lawmakers on the commission. “The data we saw coming in month-to-month gave us greater confidence that the economy would continue to chug along.

“And that is what we have continued to see.”

The governor’s office is planning on a budget roughly the size of that $52.6 billion, but “FY 25 will be a little bit of a challenge,” said COGFA’s revenue manager, Eric Noggle.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].