There’s an awful lot going on in Illinois these days. The General Assembly convenes today about 200 miles southwest of the news epicenter, and while that might mean escaping the nonstop attention focused on Chicago, lawmakers won’t be able to sidestep the harsh reality of a quickly darkening fiscal forecast.

The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget.released its annual report Thursday (tinyurl.com/GOMB26) showing a projected $267 million deficit for fiscal 2026 and a possible $2.2 billion shortfall when fiscal 2027 begins July 1.

“This year’s report shows lower-than-expected corporate tax revenue, federal tax law changes and economic volatility are driving” the current deficit, according to Ben Szalinski of Capitol News Illinois. “Overall revenue is projected to decrease $449 million from the amount anticipated last May, to a total of $54.8 billion. Lawmakers originally expected $55.3 billion in revenue while they appropriated $55.1 billion in spending.”

Everyone is free to infer their own takeaways from GOMB’s reports., but I see little value in looking as far ahead as five years. Many of the factors driving current concerns – tariffs unmoored from established economic policy and yet to be validated as legal, an attendant drop in consumer spending likely to worsen during moths that typically deliver increases and a rash of corporate tax breaks Congress approved this summer – might’ve been foreseen 12 months ago but certainly weren’t predictable at a degree that could’ve reliably informed projections.

Were I the governor (I’m more likely to be crowned prince of Liechtenstein) I’d do more than just issue an executive order directing agencies to reserve 4% of appropriations, as Gov. JB Pritzker dictated last month. That’s not a bad idea given the current climate, but it’s also not so much a solution as an attempt to hold course until one storm blows over.

Reading through either the GOMB report or the CNI analysis makes abundantly clear that Illinois, like pretty much every state, is hamstrung in its ability to pursue fiscal stability because such a large percentage of funding for essential programs and services comes from the federal government.

In much the same way local governments (especially schools) must dance with the state as its dominant yet clumsy partner, Springfield’s steps are too often intertwined with those from Washington, D.C. And it’s far from the fault of one person or party, but a fact of how The Government has evolved over roughly a century.

For the short term, the GOMB forecast should incentivize lawmakers to be tight-fisted this veto session, whether regarding public transportation, energy reform, the Chicago Bears or any other sector seeking a cash infusion.

If Illinois is to become more self reliant, there’s even less tolerance for throwing good money after bad ideas.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.