Illinois pensions

Report: Quarter Of Ill. Spending To Go To Pensions

WBEZ — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:41:30 +0000

A new report shows nearly a quarter of Illinois' state spending plan for next year will go toward pension payments. The Illinois State House and the State Senate have so far disagreed on the best way to address the worst-funded pension system in the country.

Laurence Msall is with the Civic Federation - a budget watchdog group. He says the state used to spend about 7 percent of its budget on retirement benefits. Now it's closer to 25 percent.

"It effectively means that all new revenue, in order to keep up with that growth, has to go into the pension system," Msall said.

Illinois House Approves Comprehensive Pension Reform Plan After Years Of Talks

Illinois Public Radio — Thu, 02 May 2013 21:58:24 +0000

Updated 5:39 p.m. with reporting from Brian Mackey.

The Illinois House approved a massive overhaul of state-employee pension systems on Thursday. It's a development that's been more than a year in the making.

Earlier this year, there was a pension measure that had just a single "yes" vote. That makes what happened with this latest proposal significant.

Income Taxes To Cover Millions In Interest For Unpaid Bills In Illinois

The Associated Press — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:51:31 +0000

Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka says the ever-long list of vendors waiting on payments from the state means taxpayers have to pay interest and their money is being "flushed away."

Ill. Senate Passes Pension Overhaul For Some Teachers

Illinois Public Radio — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:25:26 +0000

The Illinois Senate has passed a pension overhaul, but it only affects suburban and downstate teachers. It doesn't touch state employees' and university workers' retirement benefits.

The measure was approved by the Illinois Senate and forces teachers to choose between taking a reduced pension, or retaining access to state-backed health care upon retirement.

It took two tries, passing only after Democratic Senator Dave Koehler of Peoria switched his vote.

Concerns Raised Over Funding For SIUE Pharmacy School

Tim Lloyd — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 18:14:27 +0000

Illinois’s ballooning pension costs coupled with dwindling revenue from professional fees are what’s behind a proposed $1.2 million funding cut for the School of Pharmacy at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.