State of Illinois previously owned helicopter in crash that killed Kobe Bryant

By Austin Berg

01/26/2020

The state sold the helicopter in 2015 to ease budgetary pressures.

TAGS: budget, credit rating, helicopter, Illinois, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Moody's Investor Service, NBA: National Basketball Association, pension crisis, Sikorsky S-76B, Springfield

Madigan celebrates 35th anniversary as Illinois House speaker

By Austin Berg

01/12/2020

Illinoisans will soon cast a vote on the biggest ballot question in the history of Madigan’s record-breaking speakership.

TAGS: anniversary, credit rating, Daley, debt, fair tax, FBI, federal investigation, graduated income tax, house rules, House Speaker, Illinois, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, junk credit rating, legislative map, lobbying, lobbyists, mapmaking, Mike Madigan, patronage, pension crisis, pension debt, population loss, progressive income tax, progressive tax, property taxes, redistricting, Richard Daley, Springfield, tax burden, U.S. Census Bureau

Oak Lawn credit rating hits junk status amid skyrocketing pension costs

By Brad Weisenstein

01/07/2020

Massive increases in public safety pension contributions have failed to keep Oak Lawn’s credit from being downgraded to junk status. The Chicago suburb’s leaders are fighting cuts and tax increases, which are inevitable without pension reform in Springfield.

TAGS: credit rating, fire pensions, firefighter pensions, Illinois Department of Insurance, junk credit rating, Moody's Investor Service, municipal pensions, oak lawn, pension benefits, pension contributions, pension costs, pension crisis, pension debt, pension obligations, pension reform, pension spending, police pensions, public safety, public safety pensions

Chicago student enrollment dropped by 6,000, but union blocks closing schools

By Ben Szalinski

11/22/2019

The new contract continues a moratorium on school closings despite plummeting student enrollment.

TAGS: administration, administrators, Chicago, contract, CPS: Chicago Public Schools, credit rating, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, enrollment, enrollment numbers, funding, funding guarantee, junk credit rating, salary increase, step increase, students, support staff

S&P to Pritzker: Pension reform only way to avoid ‘junk’ credit rating

By Vincent Caruso

02/24/2019

A report from one of the largest credit rating agencies criticized Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “dubious” budget proposal for avoiding necessary fiscal reforms.

TAGS: bonds, credit rating, debt, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, Standard & Poor's

Repeating past mistakes: Pritzker proposes borrowing, stretching out payment ramp as pension solution

By Adam Schuster, Brad Weisenstein

02/15/2019

Trying to fix a massive pension deficit with more tax increases, deferring payments and gambling with taxpayer money is a recipe for failure.

TAGS: bonds, borrowing, credit rating, Dan Hynes, JB Pritzker, pension guarantee, pensions, progressive income tax

Moody’s: New taxes could accelerate Illinois exodus

By Vincent Caruso

02/08/2019

Ahead of Gov. Pritzker’s first budget address, one of the “big three” credit rating services warned the new governor against raising taxes.

TAGS: bonds, credit rating, JB Pritzker, Mike Madigan, Moody's Investor Service

Illinois Supreme Court defends inflated pensions for Chicago union leaders

By Adam Schuster

12/01/2018

Once again proving why the state must amend the Illinois Constitution’s pension clause, the court unanimously ruled in favor of a special perk that inflated union leader pensions to nearly three times the pension of the average worker.

TAGS: Chicago, credit rating, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, Rahm Emanuel

Pensions, debt push Oak Lawn toward ‘junk’ credit rating

By Vincent Caruso

10/21/2018

The Chicago suburb is facing severe fiscal challenges brought about by its unsustainable pension burden and $75 million in debt – a trend that has become too common among Illinois municipalities.

TAGS: budget, credit rating, municipal pensions, oak lawn, pension guarantee, pensions, property taxes

Moody’s: Illinois pension debt-to-revenue ratio hits all-time high for any state

By Adam Schuster

08/31/2018

According to a new report by Moody’s Investors Service, Illinois’ unfunded pension liabilities equaled 601 percent of state revenues in 2017, a U.S. record.

TAGS: bonds, credit rating, debt, employment, harvey, Moody's Investor Service, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, peoria, taxes

Power in payments: Illinois can help unbanked residents, save money by adopting best practices in payment methods

Each year, tens of billions of dollars flow through Illinois state government.1 These flows all depend on methods of payment. In deciding on those payment methods, policymakers must consider a number of important factors, including security controls, cost effectiveness, accessibility, speed and allowance for choice. This report shows that by adopting best practices across all...

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Power in payments: Illinois can help unbanked residents, save money by adopting best practices in payment methods

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Ifeoma Nkemdi

Policy lessons from Illinois’ exodus of people and money

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students