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Northwest Herald: IMRF investigation into McHenry County Board pensions 'inconclusive'
An Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund investigation could not conclude one way or the other whether McHenry County Board members worked enough hours to be eligible for pensions.
Director Louis Kosiba, who launched the investigation in February, said there is insufficient evidence regarding whether board members have put in the 1,000 hours a year necessary to qualify for pensions. The IMRF investigation was prompted by Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks, who asked the fund to look into whether County Board members, all but a handful of whom had signed up to receive the pension, were working the required hours.
“The IMRF investigation was inconclusive. We were not in a position to determine whether or not County Board members actually worked 1,000 hours,” Kosiba said.
AP: Judge issues mixed ruling on Illinois' largest public employees union contract talks
An administrative law judge issued a mixed decision this week over whether contract negotiations have stalled between Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration and Illinois’ largest public employees union.
Judge Sarah Kerley delivered a 400-page ruling Friday indicating that Rauner’s administration should be able to implement some contract provisions but the two sides should return to the bargaining table on others.
The decision is not binding and the final word is up to the Illinois Labor Relations Board in an unusual case that has fueled the bitter relationship between Rauner and public employee unions. At issue is whether talks with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees have reached “impasse,” a technical determination that could force the union to either accept the governor’s terms or strike.
The Southern: Job growth? Not in Illinois
Which Great Lakes states have recorded the best growth rate in jobs since the onset of the last recession? Two stand out.
Here in Illinois, we’re conditioned to know that neither of them is us. The drumbeat we’ve heard of actual or almost “worst in the nation” status for things like school funding or unemployment is enough for a world-class inferiority complex.
So is it Indiana and Wisconsin, which loaded up on incentives to attract Illinois companies? No, it’s New York, which qualifies as a Great Lakes state but whose economy tilts eastward to the Big Apple. It has a state budget surplus but also the highest per-capita tax burden in the country, according to the Tax Foundation. No. 2 is closer to home–Minnesota, “land of 10,000 lakes” and even more wind-chill readings, where lawmakers in recent years have raised the minimum wage, hiked taxes on the wealthy and brought their budget from a deficit to a surplus.
Chicago Tribune: Two Chicago cops face firing decade after off-duty beating captured on video
Sunrise was just two hours away, but when his pregnant fiancee was hit with hunger pangs, Obed “OJ” DeLeon dutifully drove to a nearby Northwest Side taco spot to pick up some food.
Three off-duty Chicago police officers who allegedly had just been drinking at a nearby bar were also inside the Taco Burrito King, eating at a table as DeLeon walked inside complaining about a car blocking the parking lot. Brian Murphy, one of the cops, jumped up from his seat with his service weapon drawn, pointed the semi-automatic pistol at DeLeon’s head and shoved him against a wall, surveillance video shows.
The two other officers, Jason Orsa and Daniel McNamara, joined in, too, along with a Marine friend who had just returned from Iraq. DeLeon was punched, knocked down twice, kicked, hit and held facedown on the tile floor of the crowded restaurant. His shirt was ripped off, revealing gang tattoos on his shoulder and chest.
Sun-Times: Their property tax bills? Zero
For the past four years, Jack Schaller didn’t have to pay a dime in property taxes on the two-story building where he lived until his death in May above Schaller’s Pump, the Bridgeport bar his family founded in 1881.
Fred Pegelow, 67, doesn’t have to pay any property taxes this year on his six-flat in North Center — a far cry from last year, when he paid $12,448 in real estate taxes.
Fox St. Louis: East St. Louis firefighters fighting city to protect pension fund
East St. Louis firefighters are battling controversies in city hall. At issue is how to protect the fire pension fund.
In East St. Louis some 100 firefighters and the families of deceased firefighters are in fear that the pension funds will soon dry up.
That’s because the city has failed to pay into the fund this year and last year, skipping $2.5 million dollar that should have been paid into the fund.
New York Times: When Police Unions Impede Justice
Across the country, municipal governments have signed contracts with police unions including provisions that shield officers from punishment for brutal behavior as well as from legitimate complaints by the citizens they are supposed to serve.
That may soon change, as public outrage over police killings of civilians is ratcheting up pressure on elected officials to radically revise police contracts that make it almost impossible to bring officers to justice.
The most striking case in point is Chicago, which has been roiled by a police scandal stemming from a cover-up in the case of a 17-year-old named Laquan McDonald, who was executed by a police officer nearly two years ago.