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Capitol News Illinois: Report: Illinois’ pension debt tops $300 billion
A new report by the credit rating agency Moody’s says Illinois will set a new record this year when it reports a total net pension liability of more than $300 billion, the highest of any state in the nation.
As of June 30, 2020, the report stated, the total unfunded liabilities of the state’s five pension systems stood at $317 billion, a 19 percent increase from the prior year. That was largely due to historically low interest rates, which have depressed pension fund earnings throughout the country.
Chicago Tribune: Editorial: Get. Kids. Back. In. School.
Across the country, parents are demanding more aggressively that schools reopen, including high schools. They’re frustrated with slow bureaucracy on school reopening plans, obstinate teachers unions and pick-and-choose “science” to justify closed buildings. They’re worried about their kids’ mental health.
The Jan. 7 death by suicide of Glenbrook North High School student Dylan Buckner is just one example of why parents are concerned. Buckner’s father in a Tribune interview said his son’s isolation and lack of school activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to his struggles.
State Journal-Register: Event leaders call for more guidance on future lifting of COVID restrictions
With COVID-19 numbers improving in Illinois and vaccinations increasing each week, leaders in the events industry want better guidance from the state on when large events can return to Illinois and how they can safely hold conventions.
“Now we need to plan for the future. We can’t exist in just the Phase 4 limbo and hope the regulation changes in the next few weeks as the numbers get better,” Bob Reiter, the president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, told a Senate committee on Thursday.
The Center Square: Illinois' long-term debt balloons to more than $300 billion, per Moody's
Illinois’ long-term debt has passed a grim milestone. Rating firm Moody’s Investors Service announced Wednesday that Illinois’ adjusted net pension liabilities (ANPL) spiked 19% in 2020 to $317 billion. The figure was $261 billion in 2019.
“The new liability is based on the aggregate ANPL of Illinois’ five pension systems, which reached $317 billion as of June 30 last year, a 19% jump from the prior year that was driven largely by falling interest rates,” the report read.
Chicago Tribune: CPS proposes starting classes in August, citing ‘learning loss’ from COVID-19 disruptions; district also begins union talks to bring high school students back
Chicago Public Schools is asking for public comment on a proposed academic calendar for the 2021-22 school year that would have classes start a week earlier than usual.
The public comment period opened Wednesday and ends March 17. The Chicago Board of Education is scheduled to consider the new calendar at its meeting the following week.
The Center Square: Hotel and lodging group: Illinois’ lack of clarity on reopening will have long term consequence
An advocate for Illinois’ hotel and lodging industry says while other states are opening up more fully, the lack of clarity from Gov. J.B. Pritzker on when Illinois will open up will have lasting consequences.
Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association President Michael Jacobson said there’s no middle ground in Illinois on opening things up for conventions to drive major economic activity.
Chicago Tribune: Bourbonnais teachers walk off the job and strike over pay, insurance and retirement benefits after rejecting 9.5% raises
Teachers with Bourbonnais School District 53 hit the picket line Thursday after declaring a strike over salary increases and insurance and retirement benefits.
The strike was declared late Wednesday night by the Bourbonnais Education Association following more than four hours of contract negotiations with a federal mediator, and after no deal was reached with the School District 53 Board of Education, according to a statement on the district’s website.
Daily Herald: 4-cent per gallon fuel tax to be considered in Lake County
Lake County officials are poised to enact a 4-cents-per-gallon fuel tax to help chip away at a long, expensive to-do list of road projects.
The recommended amount is half the 8 cents per gallon allowed by state law, and was settled after hours of discussion at two county board committee meetings this week.