Big Pension News? Only in Illinois

Watch a brief video rundown of recent action in Springfield that could have an impact on your tax bill and money for local schools.

Big Pension News? Only in Illinois

Watch a brief video rundown of recent action in Springfield that could have an impact on your tax bill and money for local schools.

What's happening in Springfield now regarding the state pension crisis will have a long-term impact on your tax bills and the money the state government can afford to send to local schools.  Teachers and bus drivers in the suburbs are getting layoff notices and schools are closing in the city of Chicago as the governor projects a cut of $300 million from the state education budget. This week, the Illinois House passed a bill that would trim cost-of-living payments for public retirees. The House previously passed a bill that raises the state employee retirement age incrementally. It's unlikely those measures will pass the Senate, leaving the pension crisis unresolved. Our friends at Reboot Illinois, a non-partisan news and advocacy website…

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Durkin on Quinn Budget Address: 'Harsh Reality of Failure' on Pensions

The assistant Illinois House Republican leader and 82nd District rep said pension reform should be Springfield's number one priority.

Assistant Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-82) issued a statement on Wednesday in response to Gov. Pat Quinn's 2014 budget address in which the governor chastized the legislature for failing to reform the state's underfunded public pensions system In a bit of bipartisan agreement, Durkin's statement echoed Quinn in pushing the need for pension reform: “The Governor’s Address is a harsh reality of failure to pass meaningful reforms in Illinois. A solution to the pension problem should have been wrapped up, sealed and sent to the governor last month. "We should have passed a comprehensive pension reform bill passed before today. There is nothing more important to the state’s fiscal integrity than meaningful pension reform, …

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State of the State: What Does Illinois Need to Fix?

Gov. Pat Quinn give his fifth State of the State address on Wednesday afternoon. What do you think should be his top priorities over the next year? Tell us in the comments' section.

Written by Amie Schaenzer Gov. Pat Quinn voiced his support for gay marriage in Illinois, a minimum wage hike and tougher gun laws during his State of the State speech Wednesday afternoon, according to the Chicago Tribune.  The Associated Press has posted the full text from Quinn's State of the State speech. Here are some of the highlights: Quinn also spent much of his speech touting his accomplishments during his term as governor, such as cuts to Medicaid and ethics laws that have been passed, according to Crain's Chicago.  Quinn has said he will run for re-election in 2014. If he does, he is expected to have an opponent in the March 2014 Democratic primary.  Quinn has gotten low approval ratings in recent months. A Democratic-leaning …

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Patch on Politics

We're No. 1 — Illinois Has Nation's Worst Credit Rating

Despite 2011's 67 percent state income tax hike — which took a week's pay away from you — the state's financial problems have worsened.

Illinois now has the lowest credit rating of all 50 states. Standard & Poor’s rating services downgraded Illinois’ credit rating last week to A-, with a negative outlook.  State Treasurer Dan Rutherford, who blamed the negative rating on inaction on the public pension system by Gov. Pat Quinn and the General Assembly, said Illinois is headed for "fiscal disaster." He said the lower rating will force the state to fork over more money on interest payments. This will affect state universities, road construction and other public institutions because more will go to interest than principal as these projects are paid for. “If you went out to borrow $500 because you have such bad credit, it will cost $95 more in interest than better-rated states…

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Patch on Politics

Gov Can't Keep Track of All His Boards and Commissions

State government grows in the dark, like a fungus. • Bill Daley has an idea to take the party out of state elections. • Time magazine mourns for Illinois.

When Gov. Pat Quinn took office in 2009, he promised to take aim at state boards and commissions stocked with politically connected folks drawing large salaries with little oversight into their activities. He would pare down those panels and save you money. Better Government Association investigative reporter Barbara Rose this month looked into whether Quinn delivered: "... more than three years into Quinn’s watch little has changed, except the number of such units is growing. As troubling, many don’t comply with the Illinois Open Meetings Act, according to a report last year by state Auditor General William Holland." In fact, the governor's office is having a hard time keeping up with it all. "With over 322 boards and commissions, …

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George Pickett

10:50 am on Monday, January 28, 2013

I wonder if he kept the monney?   more ›

Radogno 'Disappointed' on Pension Reform Failure

The Illinois Senate Republican Leader (41st-Lemont), who also represents parts of Western Springs and La Grange, blamed divided Democrats for the inability to pass a bill.

Illinois Rep. Christine Radogno (41st-Lemont), the Illinois Senate Republican Leader, said she is particularly frustrated at legislators' inability to deliver a solution Tuesday to the state's $96 billion pension deficit, the The Doings Western Springs reports. “I’m very, very disappointed we have not been able to achieve comprehensive pension reform calling for bipartisan cooperation,” Radogno told the paper. "The Republicans have been extraordinarily cooperative... The problem is the Democrats do not agree on what approach to take and they hold the majority." According to the paper, Radogno also expressed reservations about the proposed iterations of an assault-weapons ban and a gay-marriage bill, saying the former is too sweeping and …

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Patch on Politics

Retiring Illinois Lawmakers Make Bank on the Way Out

The representatives and senators leaving office in January 2013 will see millions of dollars in pension payments, figures far more sizable than they would've seen in the private sector.

Are you worried about your own retirement? With the downturn in the economy, did your 401k and savings take a big hit? If so, you're like millions of other Americans forced to confront a dramatically different outlook for their post-work years. But one group of pensioners is largely insulated from such concerns — outgoing Illinois lawmakers. The retirement benefits Illinois legislators receive are far more generous than those most of their constituents could collect working full-time jobs, reports Scott Reeder of the Reeder Report, using data from an Illinois Policy Institute analysis in a piece published on Watchdog.org. The anticipated pension benefits of the 34 lawmakers who will depart the state legislature in January show these …

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Patch on Politics

One Republican Thinks You're Getting a 'Free Ride' on Your Income Taxes

Jim Edgar tells Reboot Illinois that tax hikes, program cuts and leadership are desperately needed in Springfield. And Pat Quinn brings you Squeezy the Python.

With Democrats now holding a supermajority in the Illinois House and Senate as well as the governor's office, one might suppose a Democratic agenda would be a slam dunk in Springfield. As recent years have shown, however, single-party control doesn't guarantee the wheels of government grind smoothly. And former Gov. Jim Edgar, who served from 1991 to 1999, suggests that probably won't change anytime soon. In a wide-ranging interview with the new website Reboot Illinois, Edgar says Springfield is less dysfunctional when the two parties share power. "More times than not I think split government works pretty well. The reason is to make the tough decisions you need both parties. It’s hard to get one party to put up all the votes and take all …

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Fed Up

2:45 pm on Friday, December 7, 2012

What REAL world are your talking about? Like time of welfare? We all chose our professions and planed accordingly. Now we should change the rules? Here's a start NO FOOD STAMPS aka:LINK cards, NO UNEMPLOYMENT, NO WELFARE, NO SUBSIDIZED HOUSING, you the picture. No my pension in not controlled by the state, but to say get rid of all pensions now. I would agree to that if I had not been investing …   more ›

Patch on Politics

Pension Foes Allied Against Constitutional Amendment

Pension-related amendment to state constitution on Nov. 6 ballot is confusing, catastrophic and fake reform, say foes and legal experts. What you need to know before you vote.

By Jayette Bolinski, Illinois Watchdog SPRINGFIELD — Opposition to a proposed pension-related constitutional amendment that will go before Illinois voters Nov. 6 is creating strange bedfellows — from public employee unions to good-government groups that agree the question is not worthy of a change to the state’s constitution and does nothing to address the pension crisis.  Groups opposed to the amendment are numerous and come from all walks of life. It’s no surprise that public-employee unions are opposed to the amendment, which requires a three-fifths majority vote before any public body can approve a pension benefit increase. Good-government groups, such as the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and the Illinois Policy Institute, …

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