Pension reform for Illinois is essential, not impossible

By Adam Schuster

08/24/2018

Pension reform is a moral imperative. The alternative is a future in which core services are cut, taxes are raised, and pensioners risk losing what they’ve already been promised as the funds go insolvent.

TAGS: GARS: General Assembly Retirement System, Illinois Constitution, municipal pensions, pensions, property taxes, TRS: Teachers’ Retirement System

Senate President John Cullerton says Illinois doesn’t need a revenue estimate

By Adam Schuster

05/09/2018

Agreeing on how much money one has to spend is a basic first step of budgeting.

TAGS: balanced budget requirement, budget, COGFA: Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, GOMB, Illinois Constitution, John Cullerton

Unbalanced Budget Response Act would allow Rauner to make cuts to balance the budget

By Amy Korte

03/28/2017

Illinois House Bill 3868 would give Gov. Bruce Rauner the authority to trim costs and reorder the state’s spending priorities to balance the budget.

TAGS: balanced budget requirement, Bruce Rauner, budget, DCEO, debt, Fitch Ratings, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, Jim Durkin, Mike Madigan, Spending, unpaid bills

“Lockbox” amendment will decide how transportation funds can be spent

By Heather Weiner

10/06/2016

Voters will have the opportunity in November to decide, by way of a constitutional amendment, whether lawmakers should be able to divert transportation funds toward other priorities.

TAGS: Illinois Constitution

Rauner’s proposed bill would give the governor the ability to balance the state’s budget

By Jacob Huebert

03/16/2016

In light of the Illinois General Assembly’s refusal to pass a balanced budget, the Unbalanced Budget Response Act is a prudent measure that would temporarily allow the governor to shift funds and reduce spending to balance the state’s budget.

TAGS: Bruce Rauner, budget, Illinois Constitution

Is pension reform possible in Illinois?

By Jacob Huebert

03/10/2015

The plaintiffs in the SB 1 case are asking the court to do something extraordinary: to hold, in effect, that pension benefits should receive stronger protection than any other type of constitutional right.

TAGS: COLA, Illinois Constitution, Illinois Supreme Court, IML: Illinois Municipal League, Kanerva v. Weem, Lisa Madigan, Senate Bill 1

Pensions are contracts; nothing more, nothing less

By Benjamin VanMetre

01/22/2015

Illinois Policy Institute files amicus brief in SB 1 case

TAGS: amicus brief, Illinois Constitution, Illinois General Assembly, Illinois Supreme Court, pensions, Senate Bill 1

Moody’s: Illinois an outlier in pension debt

By Benjamin VanMetre

11/26/2014

Illinois ranks worst in the nation on ability to pay for its pension debt.

TAGS: budget, Chicago, Illinois Constitution, pensions, Senate Bill 1, taxes

Budget Solutions 2020: A 5-year plan to balance Illinois’ budget, pay off debt and cut taxes

Gov. J.B. Pritzker inherited a $2.8 billion budget deficit the moment he stepped into office. Next year, that deficit is projected to be $3.4 billion1. It’s the same story every budget season. But Illinois’ budget crises could be a thing of the past if the state would adopt pension reform, right-size its union contracts and...

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Budget Solutions 2020: A 5-year plan to balance Illinois’ budget, pay off debt and cut taxes

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Harry Jackson

Policy lessons from Illinois’ exodus of people and money

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