AFSCME obstructed progress for months on a new contract for state workers. Whether AFSCME and the state are at impasse in negotiations now sits with the Illinois courts – and the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision not to take a direct appeal of the case means taxpayers must continue to pay an additional $35 million to $40 million each month in health care costs alone.
The highest state worker salaries in the nation, overtime pay, generous state pensions, taxpayer-subsidized health care coverage and free retiree health insurance for career workers combine to give the average Illinois AFSCME worker six-figure annual compensation.
Lisa Madigan lost the first round in her quest to stop state worker pay during Illinois’ budget impasse. But that doesn’t mean the matter is settled. The attorney general could take this issue all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court.
The union representing state workers is currently holding a strike authorization vote. Understanding whom AFSCME represents better equips taxpayers in evaluating AFSCME’s demands and whether a strike is reasonable.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is seeking a court order to stop paychecks to state employees. Many speculate she is trying to force the General Assembly into a budget deal – one that would be bad for Illinoisans. But the General Assembly doesn’t have to be bullied into a bad budget deal. It can pass an appropriations measure to fund state worker payrolls and keep government from shutting down.
Utah passed a 401(k)-style reform plan in 2011. The state’s pension funds had a 50 percent chance of becoming insolvent by 2028 prior to the state’s reform plan – but the reform dropped that chance to 10 percent.
Utah’s pension funds had a 50 percent chance of becoming insolvent by 2028 prior to the state’s reform plan. The chance dropped to 10 percent after the state greatly improved the solvency of its pension funds with 401(k)-style reforms.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.