Nearly $2.5B in Illinois public pension payments flow to 70K out-of-state retirees

By Vincent Caruso

06/25/2019

Florida is the top destination for Illinois retirees collecting a public pension.

TAGS: income tax, municipal pensions, outmigration, pension guarantee, pensions, taxes

Illinois banks $400M in savings from pension buyouts it can’t calculate

By Bill Reveille

04/11/2019

Illinois borrows money to reduce pension obligations, with more borrowing planned. Claims $400 million in current budget savings, but admits to investors it cannot calculate any savings.

TAGS: Accelerated Pension Benefit Payment, bonds, borrowing, debt, JB Pritzker, pension guarantee, pensions

Southwestern Illinois home to 340 pension millionaires

By Brad Weisenstein

12/21/2018

A former Edwardsville university administrator and a retired judge each have collected more than $3 million in pension payments. Too little paid in with too much taken out is the heart of Illinois’ pension crisis.

TAGS: higher education, pension guarantee, pensions, SERS: State Employee Retirement System, SURS: State Universities Retirement System

More than 70 Belleville-area school retirees are pension millionaires

By Vincent Caruso

12/10/2018

Pension payouts collected by the Belleville area’s top-earning school retirees underscore the need to reform Illinois’ unaffordable pension system.

TAGS: Belleville, Belleville School District 118, Belleville Township School District 201, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, property taxes, St. Clair County, taxes

More than 19,000 Illinois government retirees receive pensions over $100K

By Janelle Cammenga

11/21/2018

The average six-figure retiree contributed just over $160,000 toward their own pension over the course of their career.

TAGS: GARS: General Assembly Retirement System, IMRF: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, property taxes, SERS: State Employee Retirement System, SURS: State Universities Retirement System, taxes, TRS: Teachers’ Retirement System

Moody’s: Illinois pension debt-to-revenue ratio hits all-time high for any state

By Adam Schuster

08/31/2018

According to a new report by Moody’s Investors Service, Illinois’ unfunded pension liabilities equaled 601 percent of state revenues in 2017, a U.S. record.

TAGS: bonds, credit rating, debt, employment, harvey, Moody's Investor Service, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, Peoria, taxes

Tax hikes vs. reform: Why Illinois must amend its constitution to fix the pension crisis

By Adam Schuster

08/24/2018

Reforming future benefit growth via a constitutional amendment is the only way to ensure the retirement security of government workers, protect taxpayer budgets and fulfill the needs of Illinoisans reliant on core services.

Civic Federation calls for tax hikes, opposes sensible reform in budget criticism

By Adam Schuster

05/17/2018

The Civic Federation’s criticism of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget is a mixed bag, with its own proposals for Illinois’ financial crisis – including nearly $3 billion in tax hikes – missing the mark.

TAGS: AFSCME: American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, budget, Civic Federation, health insurance, income tax, Laurence Msall, LGDF: Local Government Distributive Fund, municipal pensions, pensions, progressive income tax, taxes

Broken pension system puts Schaumburg taxpayers on the hook for bad investments

By Austin Berg

02/10/2018

The defined-benefit pension system threatens the retirement security of government workers, as well as the pocketbooks of overburdened taxpayers.

TAGS: 401(k), municipal pensions, pensions, Schaumburg

Budget Solutions 2019: The responsible budget for Illinois

By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill, Joe Tabor

02/06/2018

Even after a 32 percent income tax hike, the Illinois General Assembly passed a state budget in 2017 that will generate an estimated $1.5 billion deficit in fiscal year 2018. That deficit is projected to grow to $2.15 billion in fiscal year 2019, according to the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, or GOMB. The...

State Universities Retirement System

Nearly $2.5B in Illinois public pension payments flow to 70K out-of-state retirees

Illinois banks $400M in savings from pension buyouts it can’t calculate

Southwestern Illinois home to 340 pension millionaires

More than 70 Belleville-area school retirees are pension millionaires

More than 19,000 Illinois government retirees receive pensions over $100K

Moody’s: Illinois pension debt-to-revenue ratio hits all-time high for any state

Tax hikes vs. reform: Why Illinois must amend its constitution to fix the pension crisis

Civic Federation calls for tax hikes, opposes sensible reform in budget criticism

Broken pension system puts Schaumburg taxpayers on the hook for bad investments

Budget Solutions 2019: The responsible budget for Illinois

Fighting poverty with employment: Chicago block clubs

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