7 in 10 Fortune 100 companies provide only defined contribution, 401(k)-style retirement plans
7 in 10 Fortune 100 companies provide only defined contribution, 401(k)-style retirement plans
Suburban Chicago-based NorthShore University HealthSystem announced last month that it will “will freeze its employee pension plan as of Dec. 31 and shift all employees to a defined contribution savings plan.” The NorthShore hospital system isn’t the only private company making this move — Boeing, American Airlinesand Verizon each dropped their defined benefit plans for defined contribution retirement systems. The core...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Alaska’s bold solution to its pension crisis
Alaska’s bold solution to its pension crisis
Illinois has the nation’s worst-funded pensions. Each Illinois household can expect to pay more than $40,000 in additional taxes to cover the pension shortfall if no reforms are passed. The size of the pension crisis demands that state lawmakers pass the boldest reforms in the country. Fortunately, Illinois lawmakers can look to the examples other states have...
IRS workers want an exemption from ObamaCare
IRS workers want an exemption from ObamaCare
Another union has lost its enthusiasm for ObamaCare – or at least for one major feature of the federalized health insurance scheme. The National Treasury Employees Union, or NTEU, is encouraging its members to write their congressmen in opposition to HR 1780, a bill that would have federal government workers use health insurance exchanges to buy health insurance....
By Paul Kersey
FBI ethics probe causes Chicago alderman to hold off on White House honor
FBI ethics probe causes Chicago alderman to hold off on White House honor
On the same day the White House announced an honor for Chicago Alderman Joe Moore as a “pioneer for political reform, governmental transparency and democratic governance,” Moore also revealed that he had been questioned by the FBI in an ethics probe concerning some of his former employees. As the Chicago Tribune reported: The accusations involving...
By Brian Costin
Another misstep in CPS’ school closing boondoggle
Another misstep in CPS’ school closing boondoggle
Buried beneath the news of Chicago Public Schools’ dismal Illinois Standard Achievement Test scoreslast week was another bombshell: students from receiving schools – those schools that students from closed schools will attend next year – saw less than half of the gains on the ISAT as the rest of the district. In other words, thousands of displaced...
CTU recommendations for new revenue mirror Detroit’s failed policies
CTU recommendations for new revenue mirror Detroit’s failed policies
When Chicago Public Schools laid off more than 2,000 employees – including 1,036 teachers – last week, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis skewered Mayor Rahm Emanuel for not supporting tax-increasing policies that she claims would bring additional revenue to the city. She said: “It is equally shameful that as CPS slashes school budgets, they have not offered one...
U.S. House committee subpoenas Illinois’ new ObamaCare exchange insurance company
U.S. House committee subpoenas Illinois’ new ObamaCare exchange insurance company
As we reported a few days ago, one of the five companies participating in Illinois’ ObamaCare exchange is Land of Lincoln Health Inc., a startup funded by a $160 million federal loan to cover about 20,000 individuals in 2014. In Vermont, the federally funded Vermont Health CO-OP was denied its state insurance license, with a state regulator noting that the...
By Jonathan Ingram
Chicago’s speed camera deal brokered behind closed doors
Chicago’s speed camera deal brokered behind closed doors
Turns out there’s no proof that Chicago’s red-light camera program has done anything to improve safety. In May, the Chicago Inspector General released a scathing audit of Chicago’s controversial red-light camera program. The audit found the Chicago of Department of Transportation couldn’t prove it placed cameras at Chicago’s most dangerous locations or that the cameras actually...
By Brian Costin
North Carolina abandons progressive income tax to create jobs and opportunity
North Carolina abandons progressive income tax to create jobs and opportunity
North Carolina lawmakers reached an agreement last week to overhaul the state’s tax environment. The state made a lot of changes to its tax structure, but the biggest reforms included reducing North Carolina’s corporate income tax rate and exchanging the state’s progressive tax structure in favor of a flat tax. Gov. Pat McCrory provided the...
By Benjamin VanMetre
Obstructed views: Employee compensation hidden from view by Illinois counties
Obstructed views: Employee compensation hidden from view by Illinois counties
Our local government transparency partners often report that employee compensation is almost universally the most in-demand transparency suggestion from our 10-Point Transparency Checklist. Not only is public worker compensation regularly the No. 1 budget area for most local governments, but it is also an issue that virtually everyone can understand. For example, Cook County’s budget is...
By Brian Costin
Number of Illinois unemployed tops 600,000 again in June
Number of Illinois unemployed tops 600,000 again in June
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, reported Thursday that Illinois’ unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent in June from 9.1 percent in May. Illinois still has the nation’s second-highest unemployment rate, a ranking it has held since March. Only Nevada has a higher unemployment rate at 9.6 percent. BLS also reported Illinois’ nonfarm payrolls increased by...
By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner
Pam Harris: A heroic mom from Illinois
Pam Harris: A heroic mom from Illinois
A mother's struggle to keep SEIU away from her finances and out of her home.
By Paul Kersey
Chicago Public Schools lays off more than 2,000, including 1,000 teachers
Chicago Public Schools lays off more than 2,000, including 1,000 teachers
Chicago Public Schools plans to layoff more than 2,000 Chicago Teachers Union members on Friday. CTU released a statement saying CPS plans to lay off nearly 2,100 total employees, including “veteran teachers, teacher assistants, clerks, technology coordinators, instructional aides, lunchroom workers and security guards.” “Once again, CPS has lied to parents, employees and the public...
Five reasons why the university pension plan won’t solve Illinois’ crisis
Five reasons why the university pension plan won’t solve Illinois’ crisis
The Institute of Government and Public Affairs, or IGPA, a university-based research organization, recently developed a pension plan for Illinois. That plan was presented at a pension conference committee hearing earlier this month. But it’s not the type of reform Illinois’ needs. The IGPA plan fails to solve Illinois’ pension problem. Here are five reasons...
By Benjamin VanMetre