Public worker compensation is a major factor in the debate over pension reform. Teacher’s salaries are particularly important because the Teachers’ Retirement System, or TRS, is a major driver of the pension crisis. The total unfunded liability for TRS is $53.5 billion, more than half of the state’s total shortfall. TRS maintains more than 130,000 active...
State Reps. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) and Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton) have proposed House Bill 3303, which is based the Institute’s pension reform plan. State Sen. Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove) introduced a floor amendment to Senate Bill 2026, which is identical to House Bill 3303. The problem Illinois has the nation’s worst-funded pension systems. The unfunded liability currently stands at more...
In March, the Illinois Policy Institute released a report on the lack of fiscal notes – or legislative “price tags” – on legislative bills that passed the 97th General Assembly. Fiscal notes estimate the costs, savings and revenue gain or loss resulting from the implementation of proposed legislation. Crafted properly, fiscal notes can provide a wealth of...
by Andrew Wyatt The village of Bedford Park has had some trouble managing its red-light camera program and posting traffic safety statistics online in the past several years. In a rush to implement its red-light camera program, village officials pulled an “Animal House” and mistakenly used boilerplate language on the village’s website: “The purpose of this...
This afternoon Chicago Public Schools officials announced layoffs of teachers and other staff. Overall 855 school district employees will be let go: 663 employees from 49 schools that are slated for closure and another 192 staff from schools that are slated for “turnaround.” CPS currently employs 41,500 staff, including more than 23,000 teachers. While the immediate cause...
Earlier this year we looked at the Illinois Auditor General’s findings on Southern Illinois University and the entire state university system. Overall, we found a disturbing lack of compliance with state and federal law. But SIU was one of the lone bright spots, tying Illinois State University for the fewest amount of compliance violations with six...
by Ben VanMetre Political leadership in Illinois punted on pension reform during the recent spring legislative session — a move that resulted in back-to-back credit rating downgrades. The General Assembly’s inaction and the resulting credit blows caused Gov. Pat Quinn to call lawmakers back to session. The purpose of the June 19 special session is...
The Illinois General Assembly is gearing up for a special session to discuss pensions next week because of lawmakers’ reform inaction during the recent spring session, which resulted in back-to-back credit rating downgrades. The debate during session will likely be over which of two plans will solve Illinois’ crisis – House Speaker Mike Madigan’s proposal or the one...
Teacher contributions to the Teachers’ Retirement System, or TRS, have gone up by 100 percent since 1998. But taxpayer contributions to teacher retirements have gone up by 400 percent since then. In 2012 alone, Illinois taxpayers contributed $1.6 billion more to TRS than teachers did. And the disparity between taxpayers and employee contributions is projected...
by Daniel Anthony Chicago has the potential to become a nationally recognized center of ed-tech excellence. Many organizations, such as New Schools for Chicago, 1871 and Shedd Aquarium, are helping make this happen. Shedd Aquarium’s digital learning efforts are helping reduce the barriers to teachers’ professional development through its innovative Teacher Badging Program. The Illinois Policy Institute is excited...
Families and students in Illinois would benefit most from a total voucher system in which parents are empowered to choose an educational provider that works best for their unique needs.
by Brian Costin Park Ridge Mayor Dave Schmidt wants to improve online transparency and is using the Illinois Policy Institute’s 10-Point Transparency Checklist as a best practice benchmark for his city in northern Cook County. As mentioned in the Park Ridge Journal: Schmidt has four items on his list including the city meeting the transparency checklist created...
Illinois’ pension problem dwarfs the retirement problems in all other states. Officially, the underfunding of the five state-run pension systems total $100 billion. But when more realistic assumptions are used, the shortfall exceeds $200 billion. Without real pension reform, every Illinois household is on the hook for more than $40,000 in additional taxes just to cover...
Though Illinois taxpayers should be disappointed that pension reform was not enacted during the scheduled spring legislative session, they should also be relieved that fake reform was not enacted. The competing proposals offered by House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton did not offer solutions commensurate to the severity of Illinois’ pension problem (Senate Bill 1and Senate Bill...