Sunday, August 26, 2012
As we start a new week, it's always good to get caught up on state politics. Here's an easy guide to what happened last week.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Editor's Note: This article was created by aggregating news articles from Illinois Watchdog, formerly Illinois Statehouse News. SPRINGFIELD — Things were mostly quiet here a week after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on comprehensive pension reform during a special legislative session. Rutherford: Pension inaction could have ‘very serious impact’ by year end State Treasurer Dan Rutherford sounded the alarm on Illinois’ financial crisis Friday, after a Moody’s report said lawmakers’ inaction on pension reform continues to be an issue for the state’s credit rating. “I know we keep hearing these things about potential downgrades … but the fact is it is now to the point that (the credit rating agencies) are repeatedly saying this. The …
Illinois Republicans are trying to tell voters that a vote for any Democrat this fall is a vote for House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Could this be the election year in which the GOP's portrayal of Mike Madigan as the corrupt manipulator of Democratic state reps — mere marionettes who dance on strings — actually pays off? The Southwest Side power broker is again the target of a Republican bid to tie him to the candidacies of every House Democrat in the November election, according to a report from IllinoisWatchdog.org. A recent $100,000 union donation to Madigan and the House's failure to act on pension reform in the General Assembly is being cited as evidence of a suspicious scratching of the back on the Speaker's part. David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, offered this take to a reporter for …
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Pension reform appears stalled once again following an Aug. 17 special session.
Legislators left Springfield Friday without taking any action to resolve what is now estimated at a $130 billion unfunded state pension liability. Lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on how to reform the public pension system during a special session called by Gov. Pat Quinn. The inaction led Standard & Poor’s to start the process of reviewing the state’s credit rating, and drew a reaction from Plainfield trustee Garrett Peck, a Republican seeking election to the 49th District State Senate Seat. “This was unfortunately another missed opportunity by our state leaders to sit down and try and get to the root of our pension problem and publicly address it. Instead, they used it as an excuse to merely say they tried tackle the problem for …
Sunday, August 19, 2012
As we start a new week, it's always good to get caught up on state politics. Here's an easy guide to what happened last week.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Editor's Note: This article was created by aggregating news articles from Illinois Watchdog, formerly Illinois Statehouse News. SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Democrats had a no-good, very bad week, starting Wednesday when disgruntled state workers and retirees booed and heckled them off the stage during the usually upbeat Governor’s Day rally at the Illinois State Fair. It ended Friday, when lawmakers called back for a taxpayer-funded special session by Gov. Pat Quinn were unable to come to any kind of agreement on pension reform for the state, which continues to drown in pension debt. Jeers for Quinn, other Democratic leaders at state fair Thousands of people gathered at the Illinois State Fair Wednesday, officially “Governor’s Day” at the fair…
Friday, August 17, 2012
A special session on state pension reform is slated to start Friday.
A day before lawmakers were due back in Springfield for a special session on pension reform, Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation aimed at preventing lawmakers from cashing in on the state pension fund. House Bill 3969, sponsored by State Rep. Tom Cross, R-Oswego, will prevent outgoing and former state legislators from boosting their pensions by taking another government job at a higher salary once they leave office. The new law will require former lawmakers to either opt out of the higher pension at the new job, or require the hiring government agency’s pension fund to take on the additional cost. Currently, General Assembly members who began serving before Aug. 22, 1994 and obtain a higher-paying job at the state, county or municipal level …
Monday, August 6, 2012
Board president Roger Bonuchi and Superintendent John Harper joined officials from other school districts in expressing concerns about pension plans, proposed state funding changes.
Representatives from District 202 were part of a sit-down with Gov. Pat Quinn late last month to discuss pension reform and the future of state school funding. But officials don’t expect the discussion to bring a reprieve from possible general state aid (GSA) cuts or plans to shift the teachers’ pension burden to local school districts, according to District 202 Board of Education President Roger Bonuchi. Bonuchi said he and Superintendent John Harper were part of a contingent comprised of 12 officials from five Illinois school districts. Pension reform was a hot topic at the July 23 meeting, Bonuchi said, especially since Quinn has called all state lawmakers back to Springfield later this month for a special session to tackle the issue. …
Sunday, August 5, 2012
As we start a new week, it's always good to get caught up on state politics. Here's an easy guide to what happened last week.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Editor's Note: This article was created by aggregating news articles from Illinois Watchdog, formerly Illinois Statehouse News. SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Pat Quinn increased transparency in one part of state government this week, but his own office failed to release emails that could shine light on his handling of public discourse about prison closures. Prepaid tuition fund to become more transparent Illinois families who invested in the state’s troubled prepaid tuition program will enjoy more transparency in the system because of legislation signed into law Wednesday. The bill, House Bill 3923, requires meetings about the state’s prepaid tuition fund, known as College Illinois!, to be open to the public under the state’s Open Meetings Act. The …
Monday, July 30, 2012
As we start a new week, it's always good to get caught up on state politics. Here's an easy guide to what happened last week.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Monday, July 30, 2012
SPRINGFIELD — A severe drought devastating crops throughout Illinois prompted concerns about the potential costs of disaster aid and crop insurance payouts later this year. And House lawmakers will take up pension reform when they return to the Capitol for a special session Aug. 17. Here is the week in review: Taxpayers on the hook for millions in crop insurance payouts An environmental watchdog says taxpayers nationwide, including Illinois, will be on the hook for millions, if not billions, of dollars in crop insurance for grain farmers hit hard by this summer’s devastating drought. Government aid, mostly in the form of low-interest loans, will not provide much help for farmers suffering through the drought because of the slow, creeping …
Friday, June 1, 2012
A plan to shift the teacher pension burden onto local school districts is dead in the water — at least for now.
Relief was tempered with caution Thursday as District 202 board members reacted to the news that Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) was scrapping a plan to pass the cost of teachers’ pensions on to local school districts. The plan, part of Senate Bill 1673, was aimed at addressing the state’s $83 billion unfunded pension liability. More than half — $44 billion — of that is from the Teachers Retirement System (TRS). “It does give me hope,” said board member Mike Kelly, who has traveled to Springfield numerous times to lobby for school funding reform. According to Kelly, if Madigan’s plan had become a reality, it would have cost District 202 between $10 million and $15 million per year. That would have meant more job cuts in …
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Under pressure from Illinois Republicans and Gov. Pat Quinn, House Speaker Michael Madigan announced he's dropping his proposal to shift teacher pension costs to local school districts.
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) on Wednesday dropped his controversial proposal to shift the costs of teacher pensions from the state to local school districts, universities and community colleges. The announcement came after two days of spirited debate over pension reform in both the House and Senate. Madigan's plan, which was part of Senate Bill 1673, was widely criticized by Republicans, and threatened to derail other legislation to address the state's massive pension shortfall. Madigan said he reached the decision after Gov. Pat Quinn asked him to drop the amendment, the Associated Press reports. “He agrees with the Republicans. He thinks that we ought to remove the issue of the shift of normal cost out of the bill…
Ernie Knight
10:45 am on Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Dan, Illinois exempts from income tax, distributions from qualified retirement plans, not just pensions. If you are retired and drawing from your 401k, that is not taxed. Neither is Social Security. Pension holders are not being given more favored status by the Illinois income tax code. more ›