For governments like the ones in Stockton and Illinois, government worker pension plans need ambitious investment returns of nearly 8 percent year in and year out to fund the overly generous benefits officials have handed out
The price of Illinois bad behavior continues to go up.
Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman joined Tom Miller on WJPF Radio to discuss pension reform in Illinois.
Too bad Puerto Rico isnt a state. If it were, Puerto Rico, and not Illinois, would have the nations worst-funded pension system and the countrys worst credit rating.
The Illinois Education Association, or IEA, is training its members to advocate for a plan that, ironically, increases taxes on teachers.
To tax-hungry politicians, the Internet is like California in 1849 a vast expanse of untapped wealth.
With nearly 300,000 residents, Stockton is the largest city in the United States to declare bankruptcy. It is also one of several California cities to file for bankruptcy due to the recession and skyrocketing government worker pension costs.
The Chicago Tribune published the following letter to the editor from the Institute's senior budget and tax analyst, Ben VanMetre.
AFP-Illinois, the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity, is gearing up for the April 9 consolidated local elections. The group recently launched a new website designed to inform Illinois residents of local referendums that could cause their taxes to go up and are urging people to fight local tax hikes. In a recent newsletter announcing the initiative for...
On March 11, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Illinois with securities fraud. The SEC accused the state of misleading investors by understating the depth of the pension crisis. The most revealing statement from the SEC: “The statutory plan structurally underfunded the state’s pension obligations and backloaded the majority of pension contributions far into...
[updated 3.15.13] Illinois politicians are not honest about the depth of the state’s pension crisis. They chronically understate the scale of the problem to taxpayers and state workers. According to the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, the state has misled investors as well. Today the SEC announced it was charging Illinois with securities fraud. From a...
HB 3411 known as Cross-Nekritz – the latest iteration of Nekritz-Biss – paints over Illinois’ pension crisis with more of the same broken policies that have pushed government retirement systems to the edge of collapse. This bill: Perpetuates unstable, unpredictable and unmanageable defined benefit systems – The key driver of Illinois’ pension crisis is the state’s defined...
Some of the tone of Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s rhetoric was a move in the right direction during his budget address; but his strategy and plan for execution didn’t match. While painting an optimistic picture of what he has achieved during his tenure, Quinn outlined what he called an “honest” and “balanced” budget for fiscal...
“Illinois will lose approximately $33.4 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 460 teacher and aide jobs at risk.” “Up to 1,100 disadvantaged and vulnerable children could lose access to child care.” “Illinois would lose approximately $764,000 in funds that provide meals for seniors.” “Vital services will be cut for children, seniors,...