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Pensions
Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
11:57am
Fri Jan 11
1 comment

Chicago Public Forum Peers Into The Murky Future Of Pension Reform

It’s not yet clear what pension reform will look like for Illinois, but more public education will help lead to a solution that’s fair for everybody, elected officials stressed at a pension town hall in Chicago Thursday night.  

North Side lawmakers, Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th), State Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) and Cook County Commissioners Bridget Gainer and John Fritchey, hosted the public meeting in order to focus the contentious and often confusing pension dialogue.

“If the conversation continues to be greedy public servants versus people busting pensions, I think we’re never going to have a reasonable conversation,” Pawar said to the crowd of more than 50 at St. Benedict Prep High School.

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Quick Hit
by Aricka Flowers
11:46pm
Wed Jan 9

Lame Duck Session Ends Without Vote On Pensions, Lawmakers Plot Next Moves

The lame duck session came and went without legislation passing on pension reform in Illinois. Now that the new General Assembly has been sworn in, the next phase in the ongoing journey towards pension reform in Illinois begins.

The We are One Coalition, a group of about 20 Illinois labor unions, which collectively represent more than 1 million members including police, firefighters and teachers, is calling on lawmakers to sit down for a summit to work together on a comprehensive pension reform deal that would be palatable to state government and well as public workers and retirees.

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PI Original
by Ellyn Fortino
3:28pm
Mon Nov 26, 2012
1 comment

Young Workers Dubious Of Public Sector Jobs Due To Pension Crisis

Springfield

Illinois has racked up $96 billion in unfunded pension obligations, and that’s left some young people wondering what the state’s biggest political issue of 2012 means for their future. We offer a look at the distrust — and apathy — surrounding public sector jobs and Illinois' pension problems among the state's young workers.

PI Original
by Steven Ross Johnson
6:18pm
Mon Nov 19, 2012
2 comments

Illinois Revenue Projections, Allocation Procedures Need Revamping, Report Finds

Springfield

A new report from the governor’s advisory commission on improving the state’s budget process is calling on lawmakers to find a more accurate way of estimating how much revenue the state takes in, and become more flexible when it comes to how those funds are allocated.

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
7:22pm
Wed Nov 14, 2012

Why The City Council Will Rubber Stamp Emanuel's Budget

Protesters organized by Stand Up! Chicago staged a “die-in” yesterday at Chicago's City Hall lying motionless on the floor to represent what they say is the devastation that Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget will inflict on Chicago neighborhoods.

The advocates' message has mostly fallen on deaf ears in the city council. Aldermen are expected at a council meeting tomorrow to easily pass a budget that Emanuel presented just last month. The only questions are whether the vote will be unanimous and what, if any, items in the $6.54 billion package will be modified.

There was hope when Emanuel became mayor last year of more give and take between the city manager and council on the Windy City’s annual budget. Why has this not happened? Read more »

PI Original
by Matthew Blake
12:57pm
Wed Nov 14, 2012

Democratic Super Majority May Change Little In Springfield

Springfield

The election was a triumph for Illinois Democrats and a disaster for Prairie State Republicans, with Democrats gaining super majorities in both the Illinois House and Senate. But what progressive policy will emerge from Springfield’s new make up is hard to discern.

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
6:16pm
Wed Nov 7, 2012
1 comment

Muddled Public Employee Pension Referendum Fails

The state’s biggest political issue of 2012 has been growing unfunded pension obligations to public employees, with the shortfall expected to hit $93 billion by next summer. By comparison, the annual state budget is about $33 billion a year.

Considering this, Illinois voters could have been forgiven for thinking that a failed referendum on yesterday’s ballot regarding the approval of pension benefit increases had something to do with these addressing the deficit. But it really didn’t, and neither the referendum’s merits nor its key political backers were ever made clear. Read more »