Feds approve powdered alcohol, Chicago moves to ban it

By Austin Berg

03/20/2015

Chicago’s political priority list shouldn’t include addressing a new way to drink.

Make bankruptcy an option for Illinois municipalities

By Benjamin VanMetre

03/11/2015

Local governments should structure themselves in a way that best meets the needs of their budget, taxpayers and public employees. And the state should give them the power to do so.

TAGS: bankruptcy, debt

Unions to bankrupt Chicago pension funds

By Benjamin VanMetre

12/29/2014

A group of Chicago unions, including AFSCME Council 31 and the Chicago Teachers Union, have sued the city over a recent attempt to reform two of the city’s four pension funds.

TAGS: Chicago, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, pensions, unions

States on the move: 401(k)-style pension reform in Utah

By Benjamin VanMetre

11/19/2014

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.

TAGS: 401(k), pensions, state worker pay

Federal judge approves Detroit pension cuts

By Benjamin VanMetre

11/10/2014

A federal judge approved Detroit’s historic Chapter 9 bankruptcy, allowing the city to shave off $7 billion in liabilities from a total debt of $18 billion.

TAGS: bankruptcy, Detroit, taxes

America’s digital divide: Startups fly, storefronts struggle

By Michael Lucci

09/26/2014

This article was written by Satta Sarmah and featured in Fast Company on September 26, 2014. When 30-year-old Chicago native Sheyla Jarocz talks about how a brick and mortar storefront survives in the city’s North Center neighborhood, it sounds like a lonely mission. “I’ve tried to do promotions with nearby businesses,” said Jarocz, who opened Maash Boutique two years...

TAGS: Chicago, jobs

Is pension reform dead in Illinois?

09/19/2014

In June 2014, in response to attempts by the state to reform government-worker health-care costs, Illinois’ Supreme Court found these benefits to be protected by the state’s pension clause – even though retiree health-care benefits are nowhere to be found in the state pension code. As a result, many assume that if the state can’t...

TAGS: budget, pensions, taxes

Government workers watch stock market boom as their retirement security collapses

09/11/2014

Stock markets have reached all-time highs just a few years after the market meltdown of the Great Recession. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index has more than doubled since the end of 2008 and many individuals have replenished their retirement accounts, and then some. But if you’re an Illinois government worker stuck in a state-run...

TAGS: Chicago, taxes

Record number of Illinois government workers opt out of pensions, into 401(k)-style plans

By Benjamin VanMetre

09/03/2014

Illinois has the worst-funded pension systems in the nation. But there’s one group of state-government workers that isn’t worried about whether their retirement checks will be slashed. Today, more than 13 percent of all active employees in the State Universities Retirement System, or SURS, participate in a 401(k)-style plan instead of a traditional pension plan...

Arizona firefighters fight for retirement security

08/20/2014

Given they depend on the nation’s worst-funded pension systems for their retirement security, Illinois’ government workers may want to take a look at how a group of Arizona firefighters are responding to pension-fund problems of their own. Arizona’s firefighters fear that out-of-control pension costs could bankrupt cities in Arizona, resulting in cuts to pensions like...

TAGS: Bryan Jeffries, Chicago, pensions

Detroit

Feds approve powdered alcohol, Chicago moves to ban it

Make bankruptcy an option for Illinois municipalities

Unions to bankrupt Chicago pension funds

States on the move: 401(k)-style pension reform in Utah

Federal judge approves Detroit pension cuts

America’s digital divide: Startups fly, storefronts struggle

Is pension reform dead in Illinois?

Government workers watch stock market boom as their retirement security collapses

Record number of Illinois government workers opt out of pensions, into 401(k)-style plans

Arizona firefighters fight for retirement security

Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

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