In July, Gov. Pat Quinn used his line-item veto power to suspend Illinois legislators’ salaries, pledging to withhold their paychecks until they solved the state’s pension crisis. This predictably provoked a lawsuit by House Speaker Mike Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton and other legislators. A Cook County Circuit Court judge then ruled in September that...
TAGS: lawmaker pay, Pat Quinn
In December 2013, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a pension “reform” bill with many serious flaws. For example, it: barely makes a dent in the state’s unfunded pension liability; guarantees pension funding at the expense of taxpayers and all other government services; creates a fake 401(k) plan; doesn’t means test cost-of-living adjustments, or COLAs; still allows state workers to retire much earlier...
TAGS: pension guarantee, pensions
By Jane McEnaney
12/29/2013
The Illinois Policy Institute’s overarching goal is to transform liberty principles into marketable policies that become law. Naturally, the ultimate sign of success is when free market ideas are turned into laws that change lives for the better. There’s a long way to go before our vision is fully realized, but this year, our government...
By Benjamin VanMetre
12/27/2013
Fighting the progressive tax in Illinois The battle to raise taxes again is underway in Illinois. Politicians and special interest groups across the state have put a plan in motion to implement yet another income tax hike in Illinois – one that targets the state’s working- and middle-class residents. Politicians already pushed through a record...
TAGS: fair tax, flat tax, income tax, progressive income tax
By Benjamin VanMetre
12/23/2013
Lawmakers failed to keep their promise to pay down the state’s bills despite the fact that they are still raking in billions in new money from the 2011 tax hike. In fact, Illinois’ unpaid bills are slated to reach $9 billion during the Christmas season this year. When the Illinois General Assembly passed a record...
TAGS: debt, income tax, progressive income tax, unpaid bills
By Brian Costin
12/23/2013
Nice list Many local taxing bodies in Illinois took a giant leap forward in 2013 when it comes to improving online transparency. And many local officials worked with the Illinois Policy Institute to meet our online transparency standards, per the 10-Point Transparency Checklist. Our report “Obstructed views: Illinois’ 102 county online transparency audit” showed that...
TAGS: corruption, transparency
By Hilary Gowins
12/23/2013
Michael Jordan may have paid $178,900 in property taxes on his Highland Park home in 2012. But his property taxes aren’t even enough to cover the annual pension of Highland Park’s highest-compensated retired Teachers’ Retirement System member. Linda Hanson, 66, is a former Highland Park Township High School District 113 superintendent who has been retired...
TAGS: Michael Jordan, pensions, property taxes, taxes
The Illinois Policy Institute introduced the only comprehensive pension reform plan during the 2013 legislative session. The Institute’s pension solution is the first plan that shifts Illinois workers out of the state’s broke defined benefit system and into a 401(k)-style plan, giving workers control and the pension system solvency. The introduction of this legislation has...
By Michael Lucci
12/19/2013
Archer Daniels Midland, an Illinois-based agribusiness giant, announced today that it will move the company’s global headquarters from Decatur, Ill., to Chicago, despite a tax incentive bill worth $30 million to ADM being stalled in the Illinois General Assembly. The decision keeps 60 to 75 executive-level jobs in Illinois, and comes a week after Office...
TAGS: Archer Daniels Midland, Chicago, cronyism, taxes
By Benjamin VanMetre
12/12/2013
The pensions that government workers receive in Illinois are often based upon more years of service than these employees actually worked. That’s because, among many other perks, government workers can apply unused sick days to their pensionable service credit. In the Teachers’ Retirement System, or TRS, Illinois’ largest state pension fund, a 55 year-old teacher...
