Chicago Sun Times: Gov. Quinn could collect healthy pension on way out the door
Beaten by Republican Bruce Rauner in this month’s general election, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn soon will be leaving public office.
But he still might collect a public-sector paycheck.
Quinn has not said if and when he’ll be cashing in on a public-sector pension but he is allowed to receive a $136,000 annual pension from the taxpayer-supported State Retirement Systems when he exits office in mid-January, according to records and interviews.
Chicago Tribune: More Redistribution, Less Income
One reading of the midterm election wave is that voters have concluded that President Obama ’s answer to falling incomes and slow growth—higher taxes on the rich and more redistribution—is tapped out. These policies have been up and running for six long years but the middle class is no better off as a result.
On taxes, Mr. Obama often claims that the rich don’t pay their “fair share,” yet the most affluent one-fifth of taxpayers on average supplied 68.7% of federal revenue for 2011. That’s according to the Congressional Budget Office, which last week updated its statistics on the U.S. distribution of income and taxes for 2011 and preliminary calculations for last year.
As for the top 1%, they funded 24% of everything the government does in 2011. The CBO also estimates that the end-of-2012 fiscal cliff deal that lifted the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6%, plus ObamaCare’s taxes on high-income individuals, increased their average federal taxes by 4.3 percentage points to 33.3% of income. The Warren Buffettminimum-tax rule asserted that no millionaire should pay an effective tax below 30%. Mission accomplished.
Quad City Times: Rauner team tells higher ed director to prepare for 30 percent budget cut
The state’s higher education czar issued a dire budget warning to the presidents of Illinois’ public universities Friday, telling them to be prepared for cuts in state funding of up to 30 percent over the next 18 months.
In an email to the presidents, Illinois Board of Higher Education Executive Director James Applegate said he was issuing the “bad budget news” after meeting with Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner’s budget transition team.
The newly elected Republican businessman takes over for Gov. Pat Quinn 12 days after the 2011 temporary tax increase rolls back from its current 5 percent to 3.75 percent, blasting an estimated $2 billion hole in the state’s current fiscal year budget and dropping revenues in the fiscal year 2016 budget beginning July 1 by an estimated $4 billion.
Quad City Times: Double-dipping pensioners concern Illinois lawmakers
Efforts to stop public-sector workers from drawing a separate government pension haven’t put an end to the practice.
The latest example is the former superintendent of the 9,000-student Decatur public school district.
Gloria J. Davis retired from her $229,000 per year job in March and, within months, began earning a pension from the Illinois Teachers Retirement System worth $75,966 a year.
Daily Herald: Rauner tackles full transition agenda
From dealing with a rush of jobseekers to a leaky roof and hard feelings among opponents he now needs, Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner has been busily preparing to take over Illinois. His plans include staging a “big party” to celebrate “our great state” at his inauguration, even as he struggles to get a handle on the state’s “horrible” budget situation.
The Winnetka Republican will replace Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn on Jan. 12, marking the first time the state has seen a transition from a governor of one party to another since 2003, when Democrat Rod Blagojevich took over for Republican George Ryan.
Speaking to reporters for the first time at the state Capitol last week, Rauner laid out a full agenda. Here’s a closer look at the transition:
The Southern: Rauner looks to cast his net
Like those Uncle Sam military recruiting posters, Republican Bruce Rauner last week put out a call for able bodied humans who might want to serve in his administration.
But Uncle Bruce doesn’t want just any mope off the street.
Prospective members of the Republican businessman’s team must fill out a lengthy pre-application screening document that seeks to ensure he doesn’t hire a bunch of insider cronies or crackpots with criminal records.
Crain's: CTU tells candidates: Sit up straight and raise your hand for support
In the world of Chicago politics, an endorsement by the Chicago Teachers Union generally is considered a really good thing to have. The union has troops, money and political savvy, and even the best positioned contender for alderman or even mayor can find its backing quite helpful.
But a new “candidate evaluation” form that CTU just sent to candidates seeking its endorsement has got to be making even some of its friends mutter under their breaths. (Read the whole thing below.)
Cheeky, boldly assertive and even arrogant, the form, will substitute for the usual candidate questionnaire asking for positions on issues. It demands that wannabe public officials recite the CTU’s policies and goals—supposedly to insure that contenders know what the union wants.