Dixon: Years in the making, city woes won’t end in months Taxpayers in the city of Dixon fell victim to former Comptroller Rita Crundwell’s theft of $53 million since 1990. But until last year no one noticed the money was missing. With Crundwell pleading guilty to the federal embezzlement charges, the city of Dixon stands...
Wouldn’t it be nice to earn 7 to 8 percent interest on money you don’t have in the bank? That’s exactly what caretakers of the state’s public pension systems assume. Illinois’ five pension systems are expected to pay out more than $600 billion between now and 2045. In order to pay for these benefits, the...
Imagine an Illinois economy so vibrant that companies felt they had to be in Illinois to reach their fullest potential. Imagine a tax environment so competitive that companies across the country battled to get a piece of Illinois real estate. Keep imagining, because this certainly isn’t a reality. The fact is, Illinois ranks 48th in economic...
Wouldn't it be nice to earn 7 to 8 percent interest on money you don't have in the bank?
Imagine an Illinois economy so vibrant that companies felt they had to be in Illinois to reach their fullest potential.
Another one of the state’s five pension systems has posted negative investment returns for 2012, highlighting yet again the problems caused by Illinois’ politician-controlled defined-benefit plans using taxpayers as a backstop. For the third time in the last five years, the Judges’ Retirement System, or JRS, has posted a negative investment return. Although the pension...
A number of the new municipal laws going into effect for 2013 are related to increasing government transparency. These new laws include: Meeting agendas must contain the “general subject matter” for action items. (PA 97-827) Notices and agendas must be available for public review for 48 hours before meeting. (PA 97-827) Reports concerning sales tax rebate agreements...
A number of the new municipal laws going into effect for 2013 are related to increasing government transparency. These new laws include:
Another one of the state
Illinois state government has 230 programs that provide state funds to nearly 7,000 units of local government in Illinois. The largest 11 programs alone provide more than $13 billion to local governments. The distribution of that money, across the entire state, makes it difficult to hold state and local governments accountable for their spending decisions....
Palos Hills Mayor: ‘Cities and villages will go bankrupt if this does not change’ Despite all of the media focus on the state’s troubled pension systems, a Southtown Star column byPhil Kander details the problems many suburbs face with the mounting debt of public employee pensions. Intense lobbying by labor unions to pass costly pension sweeteners have caused...
Our team compiled a list of our favorite Christmas movies. And here they are in no particular order. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) Gremlins (1984) Die Hard (1988) A Christmas Story (1983) One Magic Christmas (1985) Home Alone (1990) It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Love Actually (2003) How the Grinch...
Illinois state government has 230 programs that provide state funds to nearly 7,000 units of local government in Illinois. The largest 11 programs alone provide more than $13 billion to local governments.