The Unctuous, Impoverishing Bigotry Of Class Warfare
The Unctuous, Impoverishing Bigotry Of Class Warfare
Class warfare is a form of bigotry; it shouldn
Gov. Quinn wastes $1.2 million every day he doesn’t reform retiree health benefits
Gov. Quinn wastes $1.2 million every day he doesn’t reform retiree health benefits
Earlier this year, Gov. Quinn signed into law Public Act 97-0695. That law turns over authority of setting health insurance premiums for retired state and university workers to the Governor’s office. Despite the fact that the bill was sent to the Governor more than four months ago, he has yet to exercise his new authority to...
Progressive income tax: Money grab disguised as tax reform
Progressive income tax: Money grab disguised as tax reform
The problem The same forces that helped Quinn land the governorship in 2010 and raise income taxes in 2011 are laying the groundwork for a progressive tax initiative. They want to make the temporary 2011 tax hike permanent and tax certain individuals at ever-higher marginal rates. This initiative, outlined in a February 2012 report, The...
Progressive income tax: Money grab disguised as tax reform
Progressive income tax: Money grab disguised as tax reform
The problem In an interview with Huffington Post, Gov. Pat Quinn said that Illinois needs a progressive income tax.1 “That’s one of my goals before I stop breathing and I sure hope we can get that done in Illinois. Sooner rather than later,” he told the interviewer. The same forces that helped Quinn land the...
Constitutional Amendment 49: The “do nothing” amendment
Constitutional Amendment 49: The “do nothing” amendment
by Diane Cohen, General Counsel, Liberty Justice Center When Illinoisans go to the polls on November 6, they will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to the Illinois Constitution that would require a 3/5 supermajority vote by the General Assembly on any bill increasing pension or retirement system benefits for government employees and officials. The...
John Tillman joined Lou Dobbs Tonight to discuss No Pension Bailout
John Tillman joined Lou Dobbs Tonight to discuss No Pension Bailout
States Face More Than $2.5T in Unfunded Pension Liabilities Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman on the impact of unfunded pension liabilities on state budgets across the countries.
Media Roundup: No Pension Bailout
Media Roundup: No Pension Bailout
See what they're saying about the No Pension Bailout project.
Will swing states pressure the presidential candidates for a pension bailout?
Will swing states pressure the presidential candidates for a pension bailout?
Will a few important swing states like Ohio and Colorado put pressure on the candidates to bail them out of their pension debt?
Another day, another CPS downgrade
Another day, another CPS downgrade
Last week, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the credit rating of Chicago Public Schools. Today, it’s Fitch Ratings that’s downgrading CPS. The school district’s credit rating now sits at A with a negative outlook, the same rating given to Illinois, which has the lowest rating of all 50 states. According to Fitch, the downgrade was caused by the district’s deteriorating...
Institute in Pensions and Investments: Republicans build up, then fight, issue of bailouts for pension funds
Institute in Pensions and Investments: Republicans build up, then fight, issue of bailouts for pension funds
Concern over underfunding of both public and corporate pension plans has Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, his party and other conservatives making a pre-emptive strike against the idea of federal government bailouts.
Institute on FoxNews.com: DeMint joins national effort to keep feds from bailing out state pensions
Institute on FoxNews.com: DeMint joins national effort to keep feds from bailing out state pensions
Illinois Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is getting hit with a nationwide backlash over his suggestion that the federal government bail out the state employees
Institute in The Spokesman-Review: Don’t bail out state pension funds
Institute in The Spokesman-Review: Don’t bail out state pension funds
The financial meltdown and Great Recession is teaching an expensive lesson: When big institutions face financial crises, governments are all too eager to bail them out.
CTU strike deal leads to CPS credit downgrade
CTU strike deal leads to CPS credit downgrade
On Thursday, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the credit rating of Chicago Public Schools. The school district’s credit rating now sits at A2 with a negative outlook, the same rating given to Illinois, which has the lowest rating of all 50 states. According to Moody’s, the downgrade reflects CPS’s weakened financial condition, caused primarily by the facts that:...
Gov. Quinn attacking the Institute on CapFax blog
Gov. Quinn attacking the Institute on CapFax blog