Illinois pensions: What you need to know
Illinois pensions: What you need to know
Here's what you need to know about Illinois' $111 billion state pension crisis.
Chicago Public Schools debt slides deeper into ‘junk’ status
Chicago Public Schools debt slides deeper into ‘junk’ status
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services issued a two-notch downgrade to the Chicago Board of Education on Jan. 15, citing failure to address the district’s structural financial problems.
GE rejects Chicago as home for corporate headquarters, cites pension debt
GE rejects Chicago as home for corporate headquarters, cites pension debt
General Electric will move its corporate headquarters and 800 jobs to Boston, Mass., from Fairfield, Conn., noting its concerns about Chicago’s government-worker pension debt in its rejection of the Windy City.
Despite massive stock-market rally, Illinois’ pension liabilities go up and up and up
Despite massive stock-market rally, Illinois’ pension liabilities go up and up and up
The fiscal crises caused by the state’s government-worker pension liabilities.
Illinoisans pay 2.5 times for their politicians
Illinoisans pay 2.5 times for their politicians
Taxpayers pay once for state politicians’ salaries and another 1.5 times for their bankrupt pension system. In 2017, taxpayers will contribute the equivalent of nearly $123,000 for each lawmaker just to keep the General Assembly Retirement System afloat.
3 drivers causing police and firefighter pension costs to skyrocket in Elgin
3 drivers causing police and firefighter pension costs to skyrocket in Elgin
Diverting taxpayer dollars from pensions to salaries, underfunding pensions, and providing unsustainably high pension benefits have caused Elgin, Illinois’ combined police and firefighter pension shortfalls to double in just nine years to $180 million.
5 reasons Illinois government-worker pensions are unfair to taxpayers
5 reasons Illinois government-worker pensions are unfair to taxpayers
The outsized benefits received by retired government workers under the State Universities Retirement System and the unfair burden this places on taxpayers demonstrate the urgent need to reform Illinois’ government-worker pensions.
Kentucky governor-elect: 401(k)-style plans for new government employees
Kentucky governor-elect: 401(k)-style plans for new government employees
Kentucky’s governor-elect wants 401(k)s for new government employees.
Dear Illinois Supreme Court: 8 things to know about Chicago’s pension-reform law
Dear Illinois Supreme Court: 8 things to know about Chicago’s pension-reform law
Regardless of the outcome of the case, the burden Chicagoans face from the government-worker pension crisis won’t be going away any time soon.
8 things to know about Chicago’s pension-reform law
8 things to know about Chicago’s pension-reform law
A Cook County judge is scheduled to rule on the constitutionality of Chicago's pension-reform law on July 24. No matter what the outcome is, the pension overhaul will eventually end up in the Illinois Supreme Court. But the ruling may give a clue as to whether or not the city’s reforms will ultimately be upheld.
Moody’s: Chicago taxpayers on the hook for growing pension contributions
Moody’s: Chicago taxpayers on the hook for growing pension contributions
Chicago’s contributions to its government-worker pension funds will jump to $1 billion in 2016 from $500 million in 2015, according to a new report by Moody’s Investors Service.
Moody’s: Chicago laggard in economic growth
Moody’s: Chicago laggard in economic growth
A new report by Moody’s Investors Service details Chicago’s weak economic growth and increasing government-worker pension obligations.
7 pension reforms that Illinois can still enact despite the SB1 ruling
7 pension reforms that Illinois can still enact despite the SB1 ruling
Although the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that altering pension benefits of current government workers violates the Illinois Constitution, there are still actions – from politicians voluntarily reforming their own pension system, to allowing municipal bankruptcy – that Illinois can take to set government-worker pensions on a more fiscally sound path.
Coming up short: What if Illinois’ pension funds miss their investment targets?
Coming up short: What if Illinois’ pension funds miss their investment targets?
Without real reforms, low investment yearly returns of 4 to 6 percent over the next 28 years could cost Illinois taxpayers anywhere from $100 billion to $200 billion above what they’re already expected to pay in contributions.