Illinois Pension Reform: How Did Your Representative Vote?

The Illinois House Thursday approved a controversial plan to eliminate the state's $100 billion pension debt; here's how DuPage County representatives voted.

Illinois Pension Reform: How Did Your Representative Vote?

The Illinois House Thursday approved a controversial plan to eliminate the state's $100 billion pension debt; here's how DuPage County representatives voted.

The Illinois Senate may soon vote on House Speaker Michael Madigan’s pension reform plan that passed the House Thursday. The bill passed by a vote of 62-51 and seeks to eliminate the state’s $100 billion retirement system debt. Illinois ranks dead last in the nation when it comes to funding its public pension plan, according to WBEZ. The bill asks state workers for less in future cost-of-living increases, an increase in the retirement age for workers under the age of 46 and asks for more money to be taken from state employee paychecks. The bill may have difficulty making it through the Senate where Senate Leader John Cullerton supports a different plan that gives workers the option of pay increases or government-funded health care in …

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Jim K

11:24 am on Wednesday, May 8, 2013

No we can't continue to ignore the problem so why not pass something that will solve the problem and not make Pension funding the State's number one priority as this bill does? passing this will put pension payments first in line to bills to be paid ahead of all others including education funding (which, from what I hear teachers say, should be first because it's all about the kids). Have a look …   more ›

Will GOP's Madigan Attacks Persuade Local Voters?

Illinois Republicans are trying to tell voters that a vote for any Democrat this fall is a vote for House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Could this be the election year in which the GOP's portrayal of Mike Madigan as the corrupt manipulator of Democratic state reps — mere marionettes who dance on strings — actually pays off? The Southwest Side power broker is again the target of a Republican bid to tie him to the candidacies of every House Democrat in the November election, according to a report from IllinoisWatchdog.org. A recent $100,000 union donation to Madigan and the House's failure to act on pension reform in the General Assembly is being cited as evidence of a suspicious scratching of the back on the Speaker's part.  David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, offered this take to a reporter for …

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Illinois Pension Reform Stalls, Lemont Officials React

Superintendents from District 113A and District 210 react to lawmakers' last-minute decision to drop a controversial cost-shift plan from pension reform legislation.

Political Rewind: Illinois Budget, Gaming Move Forward; Pension Reform Treading Water

It's always good to be caught up on state politics. Here's an easy guide to what happened this week.

Editor's Note: This article was created by aggregating news articles from Illinois Statehouse News that were written by various Illinois Statehouse News reporters. SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois General Assembly passed a budget — almost on time — Thursday, with the Senate ending about 1:30 a.m. Friday. The budget spends $33.7 billion for the 2013 general fund — the result of months of negotiations, hearings and a dizzying array of spending and appropriations bills with last-minute amendments upon amendments. The budget, made up of several bills in the House and Senate, includes $6.5 billion for K-12 education, $1.9 billion for higher education, $5 billion for health and human services, and $1.6 billion for public safety. In a testament to how …

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Luke

8:33 pm on Monday, June 25, 2012

$600 a month x12months x 30 years = $216,000. You get that back in what about 4 years of retirement. Who pays you for the next 20 to 30 years? We do. Those of us pay ever increasng taxes to cover your retirement. Go cry to someone who cares. The politicias bought your votes with our tax dollars. You fell for it. We can't afford it. I'd like to retire someday to but never will. I don't get to …   more ›

Madigan Drops Plan to Shift Pension Costs to School Districts

Under pressure from Illinois Republicans and Gov. Pat Quinn, House Speaker Michael Madigan announced he's dropping his proposal to shift teacher pension costs to local school districts.

UPDATED: June 4, 5:50 a.m. Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) on Wednesday dropped his controversial proposal to shift the costs of teacher pensions from the state to local school districts, universities and community colleges. The announcement came after two days of spirited debate in both the House and Senate. The General Assembly adjourned without passing any legislation for pension reform. Madigan's plan, which was part of Senate Bill 1673, was widely criticized by Republicans, and threatened to derail other legislation to address the state's massive pension shortfall. Madigan said he reached the decision after Gov. Pat Quinn asked him to drop the amendment, the Associated Press reports. “He agrees with the Republicans…

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Week in Review: Officials Slam Madigan's Pension Proposal, Park District Picks New Commissioner

A look back at the headlines from May 14-20.

Police: Lemont Man Found Sleeping in Car Faces Felony Heroin Charges The man told police he had been using the drug, which officers found in his car door, according to the report. Quarryman Organizers Release Statement on Race Cancellation A "high probability of lightning" forced Lemont police and public safety officials to shut down the annual 10-mile and 5K races Saturday morning. Lemont High School Holds Assembly to Honor State Champions The symphonic band, journalism student Charmaine Balisalisa and Chicago Tribune All-Academic Team honoree Marjorie Dallmann were honored at an all-school assembly Thursday. Relay for Life Kids Shave Their Heads to Honor Cancer Survivors Students from St. Alphonsus/St. Patrick School will walk 12 hours …

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No Vote on Madigan's Pension Proposal

House Speaker Michael Madigan introduced a plan Friday to use the Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax to address a massive shortfall in the Teachers' Retirement System.

A proposal by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) to divert billions of dollars from local taxing bodies to the massively underfunded Teachers' Retirement System did not go to vote Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. Madigan added three amendments to House Bill 3637 on May 11, which would allow the state to tap into the Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax to help cover teacher pensions. Under the proposal, local governments—including municipalities, schools, libraries and park districts—could lose as much as $1.4 billion from the CPPRT, a 2.5 percent tax on corporations that is collected by the state and earmarked for local governments. The amendments were scheduled to be discussed during a House Executive Committee …

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Proposed Pension Fix Could Take Lemont Tax Dollars

Officials are pushing back against House Speaker Michael Madigan's plan to use the Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax to address a massive shortfall in the Teachers' Retirement System.

Lemont officials are speaking out against a proposal by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) to divert billions of dollars from local taxing bodies to the massively underfunded Teachers' Retirement System. Madigan added three amendments to House Bill 3637 on Friday, which would allow the state to tap into the Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax to help cover teacher pensions. Under the proposal, local governments—including municipalities, schools, libraries and park districts—could lose as much as $1.4 billion from the CPPRT, a 2.5 percent tax on corporations that is collected by the state and earmarked for local governments. "Diversions of the magnitude proposed within the amendments would be crippling to local governments," …

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