Session wrap up: move against progressive income tax continues to gain momentum
Session wrap up: move against progressive income tax continues to gain momentum
Illinois lawmakers want to pass another multibillion dollar tax increase in Illinois in the form of a progressive income tax. That discussion materialized earlier this year when state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, proposed an amendment (HJRCA 2) to swap out Illinois’ constitutionally protected flat rate income tax for a progressive tax. The plan is to make permanent...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Fitch downgrades Illinois after lawmakers fail to pass pension reform
Fitch downgrades Illinois after lawmakers fail to pass pension reform
by Ted Dabrowski Fitch Ratings downgraded Illinois’ credit rating to “A-” from “A” after the General Assembly failed to move forward on pension reform before the end of the spring legislative session. In its statement announcing the downgrade, Fitch called Illinois’ pension liability “unsustainable” and said it was concerned about the state being able to...
Illinois General Assembly reverses Quinn’s education budget cuts
Illinois General Assembly reverses Quinn’s education budget cuts
Just a few months ago, the big education news in Illinois was Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed $400 million cut to the General State Aid for Education budget – the state’s single-largest education expenditure. This article in the Chicago Tribune captured the frantic pleas of school boards, administrators and teachers at the time: Roger Eddy, a former state...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Illinois’ pension system has spiraled so out of control that not even the architects of the system can fix it
Illinois’ pension system has spiraled so out of control that not even the architects of the system can fix it
Like many, we are disappointed that pension reform was not enacted during the spring legislative session. But make no mistake: the Madigan and Cullerton pension proposals were not pension reform. Taxpayers should be relieved they did not pass. Right now, the job of Illinois government is to provide for the well-being of all the people....
Will Illinois legislators break their promise to reduce taxes?
Will Illinois legislators break their promise to reduce taxes?
by Ted Dabrowski and Paul Schumacher In 2011, when Illinois legislators passed the largest income tax increase in the state’s history, they promised to roll back the increase beginning in 2015. “We have some temporary tax increases that are designed to pay our bills, get Illinois back on fiscal sound footing and make sure that our state...
The truth behind Illinois’ FY 2014 budget: broken promises and future tax hikes
The truth behind Illinois’ FY 2014 budget: broken promises and future tax hikes
The Illinois General Assembly increased spending to more than $35.4 billion, up approximately $2 billion from what was approved for the current fiscal year. The budget handouts being passed around the Statehouse describe this as an “honest budget,” the same language Gov. Pat Quinn used when he proposed his version of a budget back in March....
By Benjamin VanMetre
Illinois’ FY 2014 budget: chock-full of waste
Illinois’ FY 2014 budget: chock-full of waste
by Ben VanMetre A few years ago there was a popular narrative in Illinois politics about going through the budget line by line and eliminating wasteful spending. Those efforts, of course, never moved forward, and the narrative is dead. That’s a common theme in Springfield, where lawmakers make promises they don’t intend to keep. It...
New bill would take cap on registration fees for electric vehicles from $17.50 a year to $222
New bill would take cap on registration fees for electric vehicles from $17.50 a year to $222
by Kristina Rasmussen House Bill 3637 introduced by state Rep. Barbara Flynn Curre would take the cap on registration fees for electric vehicles from $17.50 a year to $222 — 1168% increase!
Moody’s warns Illinois credit rating could fall without pension reform
Moody’s warns Illinois credit rating could fall without pension reform
In what’s become a habit for Moody’s Investors Service, the credit rating agency warned today that Illinois faces more credit downgrades if it fails once again to reform its state-run pension systems. The state already has the lowest credit rating in the nation. This means Illinois pays more to borrow money than any other state. But what’s...
The SB 1687 cost shift doesn’t go far enough
The SB 1687 cost shift doesn’t go far enough
A “cost shift” pension plan was introduced today, Senate Bill 1687 Amendment #2, for the State Universities Retirement System, or SURS. Here are the ins and outs of the plan: What the cost shift does: A significant driver of Illinois’ $97 billion pension crisis is the fact that the state makes pension contributions to SURS...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Cullerton’s pension plan full of flawed logic
Cullerton’s pension plan full of flawed logic
A union coalition opposed to pension reform is arguing that a plan advanced by Senate President John Cullerton would save $26 billion more in retiree health care coverage costs than a plan backed by House Speaker Michael Madigan. From the Associated Press: A study by the We Are One Illinois coalition shows that if half of...
By Jonathan Ingram
Unions supported skipping pension payments
Unions supported skipping pension payments
Union officials backed the very pension "holidays" they blame for Illinois' pension crisis.
Illinois’ economic outlook will worsen under a progressive tax
Illinois’ economic outlook will worsen under a progressive tax
by Ben VanMetre The American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, released its sixth annual Rich States, Poor Statespublication earlier this week. This report showed that Illinois maintained its near dead-last ranking – with the third-worst state economic outlook in the nation. This news is further confirmation that state lawmakers’ poor policy decisions continue to sap economic activity and...
Motorists in Illinois are paying $4.06 per gallon of gas — $0.40 more than the national average.
Motorists in Illinois are paying $4.06 per gallon of gas — $0.40 more than the national average.
For the last several years, gas prices have remained stubbornly high at $3 or more a gallon nationwide — and customers have felt the pinch. Though prices remain high throughout the nation, they’ve mostly held steady since last year. The national average price per gallon decreased by $0.02 from this time last year, and now...
By Hilary Gowins