Sunday, January 13, 2013
The next step might mean the state's credit rating is downgraded.
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Sunday, January 13
With the Illinois General Assembly failing to act on pension reform earlier this week, the State of Illinois’ bond rating took a hit on Friday as Fitch Ratings put Illinois’ bond obligations on negative watch. The next step could mean Fitch's downgrading of the state’s credit rating, which would only add to the state’s financial woes. “The Rating Watch Negative reflects the ongoing inability of the state to address its large and growing unfunded pension liability, most recently through the failure to pass pension reform in the 'lame duck' portion of the 97th general assembly legislature that ended on Jan. 8,” Fitch Ratings said in a news release Friday. Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford reacted Friday to the negative watch …
Saturday, December 22, 2012
The bad news: Job growth in Illinois is too slow, and prison inmates probably watch better TV than you. The good news: Your lawmaker is one of the highest paid in the nation.
Feeling all warm and full of good cheer? Bah! Here's a little something to satisfy the Scrooge in you before the spirit of Christmas takes hold. We Need More Jobs: At 8.7 percent, the Illinois unemployment rate is 1 percent above the national rate. And job creation is improving at a faster clip all around us, in Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Iowa and Missouri, on average, according to Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner at the Illinois Policy Institute. "The reality is Illinois’ poor policies aren't allowing the state to participate fully in the national recovery. If only Illinois’ unemployment rate were equal to the average of its neighbors, 100,000 more Illinoisans would be working. Yes, jobs are slowly returning to the state, but that’s …
Saturday, December 15, 2012
The representatives and senators leaving office in January 2013 will see millions of dollars in pension payments, figures far more sizable than they would've seen in the private sector.
Are you worried about your own retirement? With the downturn in the economy, did your 401k and savings take a big hit? If so, you're like millions of other Americans forced to confront a dramatically different outlook for their post-work years. But one group of pensioners is largely insulated from such concerns — outgoing Illinois lawmakers. The retirement benefits Illinois legislators receive are far more generous than those most of their constituents could collect working full-time jobs, reports Scott Reeder of the Reeder Report, using data from an Illinois Policy Institute analysis in a piece published on Watchdog.org. The anticipated pension benefits of the 34 lawmakers who will depart the state legislature in January show these …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Shifting pension funding from the state to local school districts is gaining traction—and support of some Republicans—but Elmhurst school officials say the plan would cripple public education.
A proposal that would shift the burden of teacher pension costs from the state income tax payer to the local property tax payer is gaining traction in the Illinois General Assembly, according to an article in the Daily Herald Tuesday. Republican lawmakers traditionally have strongly opposed such legislation, however the Herald is reporting two Republicans, Rep. Chris Nybo of Elmhurst and David Harris of Arlington Heights, seem to be getting behind the idea. Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook, chairman of the House Pension Committee, has put forth a plan that would phase-in the costs to local school districts and require teachers and state workers to pay more into their retirement. Elmhurst District 205 School Board officials have…
Sunday, June 10, 2012
It's always good to be caught up on state politics. Here's an easy guide to what happened this week.
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Sunday, June 10, 2012
Editor's Note: This article was created by aggregating news articles from Illinois Statehouse News that were written by various Illinois Statehouse News reporters. SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Capitol was quiet a week after lawmakers closed out the spring legislative session, but pension reform negotiations continue behind closed doors in Chicago Legislative leaders meet with Quinn in Chicago The state’s four top legislative leaders met with Gov. Pat Quinn on Wednesday in Chicago to begin hashing out pension reform. The reform effort fell apart in the final hours of the legislative session, when lawmakers disagreed over shifting some costs to local school districts. Democrats supported the cost-shift, but Republicans said they feared it …
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Here is a wrap-up of the latest political news.
Your employer can see whatever embarrassing photos you publically post on Facebook, but you won’t have to surrender access to your account, if Gov. Pat Quinn signs a bill the Illinois General Assembly has approved. Illinois workers would be protected from businesses that want access to their Facebook accounts and other social media under the legislation, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting. The bill says employers cannot require workers or job applicants to grant access to social media. The Sun-Times says it is rare, but there have been cases of job applicants being forced to allow interviewers to examine their private accounts. The Illinois Senate voted 55-0 May 22 to ban that practice. The House approved the measure in March. Employers …
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Here is a wrap-up of some of the latest political news.
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Sunday, April 22, 2012
Lawmakers in Springfield are pushing to make it harder to jail poor people who miss court dates or are found in contempt of court as they struggle with unpaid debts—an aggressive practice that got worse, some say, during the recession, according to an Associated Press report posted on BusinessWeek.com. Debt collectors have become so aggressive in some parts of Illinois, according to the news report, that they commonly use taxpayer-financed courts, sheriff's deputies and county jails to squeeze poor people who fall behind on small payments of $25 or $50 a month. HB 5434, the Debtors’ Rights Act of 2012, would require court appearance notices to be served to a debtor's home, rather than merely mailed. It would require arrest warrants to …
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Here is a roundup of some of the latest political news.
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Wednesday, March 7, 2012
A bill that would require high school students to take four years of mathematics is making its way through the Illinois General Assembly. Senate Bill 3244 would amend the School Code and require high school students to take four years of math, instead of three, in order to graduate. If the bill passes, it would be effective starting with freshmen entering the 2012-2013 school year. Illinois lawmakers, quoted by the Illinois Statehouse News, want to see high-schoolers add another year of math, without subtracting from students planning to hit the workforce immediately after graduation. Lawmakers in Springfield for Final Days Until After Primary The Associated Press is reporting in the Daily Herald that Illinois lawmakers have returned to …
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Elmhurst Republican launches grassroots campaign for appointment to seat Dan Cronin will vacate.
An Elmhurst Republican is launching a grassroots campaign to seek the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Dan Cronin when he assumes his new position as chairman of DuPage County Board. Rafael Rivadeneira, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for Illinois House District 41 earlier this year, is asking his supporters to call Cronin and urge him to name Rivadeneira to the Senate seat. Rivadeneira announced his intentions to seek the nomination in a Nov. 9 press release. In addition to the release, Rivadeneira also posted a statement on his Web site and his Facebook account. Last week Cronin was elected to helm the DuPage County Board. Before taking on his new role he will have to resign the Senate seat he's held since 1993. …
Dan
9:12 am on Monday, January 14, 2013
Didn't it go to shore up the pensions? Isn't that the point that even though taxes were increased 66% that wasn't enough to pay all the bills that had been backlogged and fund the pension system properly. Where did the money go? more ›