The IL Supreme Court today ruled that retirement health care benefits within the State pension systems are to be considered part of pension benefits that can not be constitutionally diminished or reduced. Paragraph 40 [Emphasis mine] ~ Although some of the benefits are governed by a group health insurance statute and others are covered by the […]
Judge Halts Pension Reform
May 15, 2014 by 1 Comment
As many expected, a judge has issued a stay on the pension reform passed last December. The case is likely to take a couple of years before it is decided at the Illinois Supreme Court. Here is a statement from the President of the Illinois AFL-CIO, Michael Carrigan: “This is an important first step in […]
SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS & ADMINISTRATORS Sue to keep gold plated pensions
January 9, 2014 by 3 Comments
Read the lawsuit here _______________ YET… TOP 100 School Administrator Pensions Exceed $180,000 per year,click here. AND… over 4,767 educators have $100,000 plus annual retirement pensions- to search Heat Map click here. This pension lawsuit is about protecting the perks of highly-compensated school administrators who don’t even work in the classroom. Let’s examine the five superintendents and […]
Jack Roeser Responds to the Madigan Pension Reform
December 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Related articles: Which Republicans Sold Illinoisans Down the River on Pension Vote? SB1 Pension Reform bill – much ado about nothing State income tax hike doesn’t look so temporary now Enemy of his enemy: Conservative candidate could help Illinois governor win back unions Pension bill’s accounting gimmicks ignores $6-$8B in debt Demmer: Why I supported […]
State income tax hike doesn’t look so temporary now
December 13, 2013 by 5 Comments
Pension overhaul seen as having little affect The harshest Republican critics of a new law to wipe out the state’s $100 billion government worker pension debt argued that the plan should have saved more money or Illinois’ temporary income-tax increase that’s set to expire will never go away. A look at the state’s finances, however, […]
University of Chicago Economist Eugene Fama on Illinois Bonds
December 13, 2013 by 1 Comment
How do you feel about buying Illinois bonds? Well, in the short term, they’re OK. In the long term, I wouldn’t touch them. The [state’s] pension liability is much worse than [the reported $100 billion that] people think. How so? States discount their liabilities—I think Illinois uses a discount of 7.5 percent [it’s between 7 […]
Battle Hymn of the Republic - Uncompromising zeal to fight for freedom
December 9, 2013 by 2 Comments
Last week, I stood in a small country church and sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic along with about 50 others celebrating the life of my 103-year-old grandmother, whose long life had come to an end. It was the hymn that she requested be sung at her funeral. Voices rose thunderously in Brooklyn United […]
Video: Kass commentary on pension vote
December 9, 2013 by 2 Comments
Listen to Tribune columnist John Kass and reporter Jenniffer Weigel discuss whether the bill approved Tuesday will fix Illinois’ huge public worker pension problem.
Our view: Pension bill doesn’t solve state’s problems
December 6, 2013 by 5 Comments
From the Northwest Herald: [emphasis mine] If the pension reform bill passed Tuesday by the Illinois General Assembly was a first step in a series of reform measures still to come, we’d hail it as a small victory for taxpayers and the state. Unfortunately, we fear that in the minds of Gov. Pat Quinn, Speaker […]