Despite economic crisis, Pritzker won’t consider postponing $261 million in state raises

By Mailee Smith

04/24/2020

With more than 755,000 Illinoisans out of work, state employees are still scheduled to get their automatic raises. Gov. J.B. Pritzker is treating those raises as non-negotiable. Governors in other states would disagree.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, coronavirus, COVID-19, executive order, state worker pay

Illinois scheduled to give $261M in automatic pay raises to state workers

By Mailee Smith

04/13/2020

Pritzker should join other Democratic governors in postponing automatic pay raises, which would free up funds for needy Illinoisans and potentially preserve state worker jobs in the long run.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, coronavirus, COVID-19, pensions, public sector, state worker pay

Pritzker’s AFSCME deal gives 12% automatic raises, $2,500 bonus to state workers

By Adam Schuster

06/26/2019

By continuing practices such as automatic raises and taxpayer-subsidized platinum health insurance, along with a new $2,500 bonus, the AFSCME contract will transfer more than $3.6 billion in additional compensation from taxpayers to state workers.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, JB Pritzker, labor, pension guarantee, pensions, state worker pay, taxes

Pritzker gives $100 million in pay raises to some of the nation’s highest paid state workers

By Adam Schuster

01/15/2019

On his first full day in office, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced he will grant costly automatic pay raises to Illinois’ state workers despite a current budget deficit of more than $1 billion.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, budget, JB Pritzker, state worker pay, step and lane

Lame-duck House passes state government pay hikes

By Joe Kaiser

01/08/2019

In the final hours of the 100th General Assembly, some state lawmakers are pushing to send a bill to incoming Gov. J.B. Pritzker that would give pay raises to state department heads.

TAGS: ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois House of Representatives, pensions, state worker pay

How to make an extra $3 billion, the Illinois way

By Austin Berg

10/25/2018

AFSCME – the largest government worker union in the state – may pull off one of the most insulting waiting games in state history. The payoff? More than $3 billion, courtesy of Illinois taxpayers.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Bruce Rauner, collective bargaining, income tax, state worker pay, taxes

Illinois state workers who opted out of union should see pay hikes by July

By Mailee Smith, Joe Tabor

06/29/2018

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Janus v. AFSCME means state workers previously paying “fair share” fees will no longer see any money deducted from their paychecks on behalf of a union.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, agency fees, fair share, Janus v. AFSCME, state worker pay

Bill to rein in state health care costs killed in the Senate

By Mailee Smith

04/27/2018

Senate Democrats killed a chance this week to rein in government spending, instead siding with government unions that prioritize their own power over the fiscal health of the state. Illinois taxpayers pay nearly $15,000 per state worker in health care costs alone under the most recent contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Bill Brady, collective bargaining, health care, state worker pay

AFSCME stall tactics are all political – and they’re costing Illinoisans millions

By Mailee Smith

08/22/2017

Illinois’ largest government worker union is likely stalling contract negotiations in hopes of dealing with a new governor in 2019.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Bruce Rauner, Illinois Labor Relations Board, state worker pay

Fact-checking BGA’s claims on ‘low-spending’ Illinois

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

05/23/2017

While the Better Government Association has claimed Illinois’ budget contains no fat to trim, a deeper analysis reveals the state has many areas of expensive inefficiency to reform in state and local government costs, the Medicaid program and K-12 education.

TAGS: BGA: Better Government Association, budget, education, local government, Medicaid, municipal government, state worker pay, taxes

Center for Poverty Solutions: How to better assess poverty in Chicago and America

America’s War on Poverty has been an abject failure. Nearly $12 trillion and 60 years later, official poverty rates remain basically unchanged. While the nation waged a well-intentioned assault on poverty, it inadvertently launched a far more sinister war: on dignity. While attempting to eradicate poverty, America created countless government welfare programs. In doing so,...

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Center for Poverty Solutions: How to better assess poverty in Chicago and America

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Traci Crosby

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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