Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Back to reality: More bad news for Illinois teachers’ pension fund

By John Klingner
06/27/2014
In the next bad surprise for taxpayers and Illinois’ downstate teachers, the Teachers’ Retirement System, or TRS, announced that the shortfall in its pension fund has increased by $6 billion. The bigger shortfall means that without real pension reform, teachers may see their pensions cut and taxpayers may be called on to bail out the nearly insolvent...

401(k)s are better than politician-run pensions

04/03/2014
Opponents of pension reform in Illinois are quick to malign self-managed accounts, such as 401(k)s, as too risky for government workers. They claim that workers are better off with pensions paid for and run by the government, as if that somehow makes them more secure. But there are three key problems with that argument. The...

Michael Jordan’s $200K property tax bill can’t cover Highland Park’s No. 1 pensioner

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

Current government retirees turn sick days into pension dollars

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...

Why Illinois teachers should reject new pension deal

12/03/2013
Madigan’s new pension “fix” does nothing to address the problems with the current pension system. Here’s another reason why Illinois teachers should urge their legislators to vote “no”:  the new pension bill does nothing to address the unfair distribution of pensions under the Teachers’ Retirement System, or TRS. Amazingly, the pension a teacher in TRS...

TAGS: pensions

What you need to know about Illinois’ latest pension bill

By Benjamin VanMetre
12/03/2013
The 401(k) option is a fake: The bill says that some people would be allowed to participate in a 401(k)-style plan. But participation in the 401(k) option is limited to 5 percent of Tier 1 members (which includes members who were hired before 2011). Once 5 percent of these members are in the plan, it...

TAGS: pensions, Senate Bill 1

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Pathway to a Profession: How Apprenticeships Could Reshape Illinois’ Beauty Service Industry

Occupational licensing requirements present one of the steepest barriers to low-income Illinoisans starting careers in beauty services. Illinois requires anyone seeking to become a barber, cosmetologist, nail technician or hair braider to obtain a state license, essentially a permission slip to work. Unlike 45 other states, Illinois offers only one pathway to licensure for each...

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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