Fitch downgrades Illinois after lawmakers fail to pass pension reform

06/03/2013

by Ted Dabrowski Fitch Ratings downgraded Illinois’ credit rating to “A-” from “A” after the General Assembly failed to move forward on pension reform before the end of the spring legislative session. In its statement announcing the downgrade, Fitch called Illinois’ pension liability “unsustainable” and said it was concerned about the state being able to...

California lawsuit seeks to end practice of forced union dues

05/09/2013

by Paul Kersey In Illinois and many other states, government workers are often forced to pay union dues in order to hold on to their jobs. But a lawsuit filed on behalf of teachers in California may bring this practice to an end. Union officials use forced dues to fund massive political and lobbying drives...

States with no income tax had a surplus or no deficit in 2012

03/31/2013

States that dont have an income tax manage to stay out of the red, and many are even operating with budget surpluses. Texas, for example, currently foresees and $8.8 billion surplus over its current two-year budget cycle.

TAGS: deficit

Illinois’ pension liability more than doubles under Moody’s new accounting rules

By Ted Dabrowski

03/31/2013

Moodys is set to require states and local governments to use more transparent and realistic accounting rules when they report their true pension obligations. And that means Illinois debt and underfunding numbers will skyrocket.

Pension funds expected rates of return: Biggest lie in global finance

03/31/2013

For governments like the ones in Stockton and Illinois, government worker pension plans need ambitious investment returns of nearly 8 percent year in and year out to fund the overly generous benefits officials have handed out

TAGS: pensions

The cost of bad behavior: Illinois penalty borrowing rate

By John Klingner

03/31/2013

The price of Illinois bad behavior continues to go up.

TAGS: borrowing, credit rating, debt

Lessons from Puerto Rico: the problem with big pension debts and little solutions

By Ted Dabrowski

03/31/2013

Too bad Puerto Rico isnt a state. If it were, Puerto Rico, and not Illinois, would have the nations worst-funded pension system and the countrys worst credit rating.

TAGS: credit rating, debt, Puerto Rico

Institute in Chicago Tribune: Amazon tax an Illinois disaster

03/31/2013

To tax-hungry politicians, the Internet is like California in 1849 a vast expanse of untapped wealth.

The Stockton crystal ball: what a pension guarantee will do to Illinois

03/31/2013

With nearly 300,000 residents, Stockton is the largest city in the United States to declare bankruptcy. It is also one of several California cities to file for bankruptcy due to the recession and skyrocketing government worker pension costs.

TAGS: pension guarantee, pensions

California

Fitch downgrades Illinois after lawmakers fail to pass pension reform

California lawsuit seeks to end practice of forced union dues

States with no income tax had a surplus or no deficit in 2012

Illinois’ pension liability more than doubles under Moody’s new accounting rules

Illinois’ income tax turns 44

Pension funds expected rates of return: Biggest lie in global finance

The cost of bad behavior: Illinois penalty borrowing rate

Lessons from Puerto Rico: the problem with big pension debts and little solutions

Institute in Chicago Tribune: Amazon tax an Illinois disaster

The Stockton crystal ball: what a pension guarantee will do to Illinois

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