Illinois pension plans 39% funded, taxpayers on the hook for $105 billion in liabilities: It will get worse

02/27/2015

Numerous U.S. pension plans are in deep, deep trouble, and Illinois is at the top of the list. Plan assumptions cannot and will not be met.

TAGS: pensions

Moody’s hits Chicago with credit downgrade, cites pensions

By Austin Berg

02/27/2015

Chicago’s credit rating trails only Detroit among major U.S. cities.

TAGS: Chicago, downgrade, pensions

Federal court declines to rule on whether pension clause protects Chicago health benefits

02/26/2015

Now Illinois state courts will decide whether it is constitutional to the city to reduce retiree health benefits.

TAGS: pensions

Lessons from Illinois: Pension obligation bonds only delay the day of reckoning

By Benjamin VanMetre

02/26/2015

Illinois resorted to POBs because pension costs were quickly increasing. But instead of reforming the system, political leaders chose to paper over the problem with debt.

TAGS: bonds, debt, pensions

Pension costs to consume 25 cents of every state-budget dollar in Illinois

By Benjamin VanMetre

02/05/2015

The state’s 2016 pension cost is projected to increase to nearly $8 billion – or 25 cents of every dollar the state spends during the next budget year.

TAGS: pensions

State of the state: 10 pension facts every Illinoisan should know

By Benjamin VanMetre

02/03/2015

How bad the pension crisis really is, and why getting politicians out of the retirement business is the only way to solve it.

TAGS: pensions

Illinois Supreme Court rejects briefs from pension-reform supporters

01/23/2015

Given the importance of pension reform in Illinois, many groups wanted to weigh in.

TAGS: Illinois Supreme Court, pensions

College of DuPage president gets golden parachute in wake of scandals

By Austin Berg

01/23/2015

College President Robert Breuder will receive a $762,868 severance.

TAGS: College of DuPage, pensions, Robert Breuder

Pensions are contracts; nothing more, nothing less

By Benjamin VanMetre

01/22/2015

Illinois Policy Institute files amicus brief in SB 1 case

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

Corporate pensions remain volatile as funding levels drop

By Benjamin VanMetre

01/07/2015

The unpredictable and expensive nature of defined-benefit pension plans is why companies like Barnes & Noble Inc. and Allegheny Technologies recently chose to abandon traditional pension plans in favor of 401(k)-style plans.

TAGS: pensions

pensions

Illinois pension plans 39% funded, taxpayers on the hook for $105 billion in liabilities: It will get worse

Moody’s hits Chicago with credit downgrade, cites pensions

Federal court declines to rule on whether pension clause protects Chicago health benefits

Lessons from Illinois: Pension obligation bonds only delay the day of reckoning

Pension costs to consume 25 cents of every state-budget dollar in Illinois

State of the state: 10 pension facts every Illinoisan should know

Illinois Supreme Court rejects briefs from pension-reform supporters

College of DuPage president gets golden parachute in wake of scandals

Pensions are contracts; nothing more, nothing less

Corporate pensions remain volatile as funding levels drop

Pathway to a Profession: How Apprenticeships Could Reshape Illinois’ Beauty Service Industry

Report Archive

Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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