Chicago

Each Illinois household on the hook for $56K in government-worker retirement debt

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner
03/23/2017
In 2010, the unfunded debt related to pensions and retiree health care costs for local and state government workers across Illinois was $203 billion, the equivalent of more than $43,000 per household. In just six years, the total debt Illinois households are on the hook for has jumped to $56,000, or 31 percent. That’s a $13,000 increase for each household. Total unfunded debt for state and local governments in Illinois now totals $267 billion.

TAGS: GARS: General Assembly Retirement System, JRS: Judges’ Retirement System, pensions, SERS: State Employee Retirement System, SURS: State Universities Retirement System, TRS: Teachers’ Retirement System

Taxpayers deserve say in the teachers’ union contracts they pay for

By Mailee Smith
03/21/2017
Negotiations between government-worker unions and governing bodies are conducted behind closed doors, away from public scrutiny. And yet taxpayers are required to pay for whatever extravagant benefits the unions obtain. Recently a bill in the General Assembly would have brought more transparency – and accountability – to the process, but it failed to make it out of committee.

TAGS: education, labor, transparency, unions

Illinois lawmakers vote against bill to protect state workers from having their Social Security number shared with unions

By Mailee Smith
03/17/2017
Through collective bargaining agreements with the state, government-worker unions require access to workers’ social security numbers – even if those workers are not members of the union. A bill protecting worker privacy recently failed to get enough votes to pass out of committee.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Anna Moeller, labor, Stephanie Kifowit, unions

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FAQ: How the federal scholarship program would help Illinois students

Illinois students could soon benefit from scholarship money to help them find a tutor, attend ACT or SAT prep sessions, pay tuition, get special education services or assist with other academic needs. That will happen in Illinois only if Gov. J.B. Pritzker lets the state’s schoolchildren benefit from the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, established...

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Diana Graham

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

By Paul Kersey
06/19/2014

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

By Ted Dabrowski
05/02/2016