Local-government employees are typically barred from serving in local elected office, given they’d be sitting on both sides of the bargaining table. But one group of public employees is exempt from this sensible safeguard: firefighters.
Does the Illinois Constitution’s pension clause spell disaster for the state?
Local governments should structure themselves in a way that best meets the needs of their budget, taxpayers and public employees. And the state should give them the power to do so.
Missing from the discussion on state revenues is what happened with all the money from Illinois’ last major tax hike.
Unfunded pension debt for police and fire pension funds in Wilmette has increased by 16 percent since 2009.
Rife with problems, it’s ripe for change.
The plaintiffs in the SB 1 case are asking the court to do something extraordinary: to hold, in effect, that pension benefits should receive stronger protection than any other type of constitutional right.
Since 2009, taxpayer contributions to police and fire pensions in Springfield have increased by 44 percent.
Morton Grove's police pension fund has just 54 cents of every dollar it needs in the bank today to meet future pension payments.
Whether they realize it or not, taxpayers in Arlington Heights have a lot of experience with the impact of rising pension costs.