by Diane Cohen, General Counsel, Liberty Justice Center When Illinoisans go to the polls on November 6, they will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to the Illinois Constitution that would require a 3/5 supermajority vote by the General Assembly on any bill increasing pension or retirement system benefits for government employees and officials. The...
Since 2010, the Illinois Policy Institute has been working hard to ensure local government transparency and accountability to taxpayers. With our Local Transparency Project, we’ve been pushing school districts to post employee compensation online. Employee compensation transparency is especially important when it comes time to negotiate collective bargaining agreements. Without transparency, it’s hard for citizens to...
After years of denying that the pension funds are in trouble, the head of the state's largest pension fund is finally acknowledging the crisis.
States Face More Than $2.5T in Unfunded Pension Liabilities Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman on the impact of unfunded pension liabilities on state budgets across the countries.
See what they're saying about the No Pension Bailout project.
Will a few important swing states like Ohio and Colorado put pressure on the candidates to bail them out of their pension debt?
How has Illinois performed under President Obama?
Last week, Citizens Against Government Waste, or CAGW, named Gov. Pat Quinn their September “Porker of the Month.” This monthly “award” is given to politicians and public officials who have “shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.” As we’ve previously reported, Gov. Quinn’s fiscal year 2012 budget floated the idea of having the federal government guarantee the...
Last week, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the credit rating of Chicago Public Schools. Today, it’s Fitch Ratings that’s downgrading CPS. The school district’s credit rating now sits at A with a negative outlook, the same rating given to Illinois, which has the lowest rating of all 50 states. According to Fitch, the downgrade was caused by the district’s deteriorating...
The nation’s unemployment rate increased to 7.9 percent in October from 7.8 percent in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If that number is a reflection of the country’s anemic recovery, consider the implications of Illinois’ 8.8 percent unemployment rate in September. There are more than 580,000 Illinoisans formally out of work. And these...
Concern over underfunding of both public and corporate pension plans has Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, his party and other conservatives making a pre-emptive strike against the idea of federal government bailouts.
Illinois Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is getting hit with a nationwide backlash over his suggestion that the federal government bail out the state employees
The financial meltdown and Great Recession is teaching an expensive lesson: When big institutions face financial crises, governments are all too eager to bail them out.
Illinois’ state debt: Illinois’ total state debt is $271 billion Illinois’ state debt has ballooned to $51,000 per household Illinois has roughly $9 billion in unpaid bills Illinois will spend more on pensions than on education by 2016 Illinois’ economic performance: Illinois is 47th in job growth Illinois is 48th in economic outlook Illinois is 48th in...