Tom Cross

A principled stand against pension “fix”

By Matt Paprocki
12/04/2013
Lawmakers met in Springfield on Tuesday for a special session on pension reform. After an early morning committee hearing, a gathering of each of the four legislative caucuses and several hours of lengthy floor debates, a pension bill passed the House and Senate, and now awaits Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature. The Illinois Policy Institute adamantly...

TAGS: Brad Halbrook, Brian Stewart, Dale Righter, Dan Duffy, David Harris, David Luechtefeld, defined benefit plans, Dwight Kay, Jason Barickman, Jeanne Ives, Joe Sosnowski, Kyle McCarter, pensions, Senate Bill 1, Tom Cross, Tom Morrison

Capitol Updates: lawmakers push off pension reform in favor of ‘pension conference committee’ during special session

By Jane McEnaney
06/20/2013
State lawmakers were in Springfield yesterday for a special session ordered by Gov. Pat Quinn. As expected, the General Assembly did not take formal votes on any pension reform legislation. Instead, Quinn called for the formation of a conference committee, with the intention of resolving the differences between the House and Senate on pension reform. As a means of breaking up...

Capitol Updates: April 29 week in review

By Jane McEnaney
05/03/2013
This was an eventful week in Springfield with both chambers in session. Virtual charter school moratorium bill moves to Senate subcommittee The Senate Education Committee did not hear House Bill 494 during its hearing on Tuesday, so the Illinois Policy Institute’s Vice President of Policy, Ted Dabrowski, was unable to testify in opposition to the bill as planned. Instead,...

PRESS RELEASE: Most Illinois pension debt since ’95 unrelated to skipped payments

03/31/2013
PRESS RELEASE from the ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE MEDIA CONTACT: Diana Rickert diana@illinoispolicy.org or (312) 607-4977 New analysis shows that, contrary to popular belief, more than half of Illinois pension debt accumulated since 1995 not related to “skipped payments” or “pension holidays” SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (April 23, 2013) — Illinois’ massive pension debt frequently is blamed on...

Key differences between Cross/Nekritz pension bill and real reform

By Benjamin VanMetre
02/27/2013
Key differences between HB3411 and HB3303 HB3411: Rep. Tom Cross, Rep. Elaine Nekritz bill HB3303: Rep. Tom Morrison bill to be introduced on Thursday (Institute supported) PENSION RAMP HB3411: Keeps pension ramp, so pension contributions increase each and every year. HB3303: Eliminates pension ramp, so pension contributions remain level. RETIREMENT CONTROL HB3411: Keeps politicians in...

Veto session: legislative update

By Matt Paprocki, Jane McEnaney
11/28/2012
Veto session commenced yesterday morning in Springfield. Typically, we would expect to see movement on controversial bills during this time because of the lame duck legislators who have been voted out of office but still retain voting power. However, impending Democratic supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature means that we expect to see movement...

Where is the leadership​?

05/18/2012
Every now and then you find out whether leaders and legislators are truly for reform or whether they simply use the concept to advance electoral imperatives. The upcoming votes on Medicaid, pensions and the state budget will be illuminating. Things are moving quickly in Springfield, and the most urgent issue on deck is Medicaid. Leadership...
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Chicago Forward 2026: A pro-growth plan to end city budget deficits

Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.

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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