If lawmakers continue to balk at building the tools necessary to reform pensions, bankruptcy will be the only way out for communities across the state.

TAGS: bankruptcy, harvey, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, Peoria

Hog-tied: Illinois state law not equipped to address local governments’ pension problems

By Joe Tabor

07/23/2018

Avenues for state oversight for cities with financial difficulties have limited utility in the face of massive pension debt and have almost never been invoked since Springfield passed them into law in 1990.

TAGS: bankruptcy, East St. Louis, Financially Distressed City Law, local government, Local Government Financial Planning and Supervision Act, municipal pensions, pensions

Harvey revenue agreement highlights need for pension reform – or municipal bankruptcy

By Joe Tabor

06/08/2018

Illinois’ pension laws are forcing the city of Harvey to pay its creditors through short-term negotiated agreements just to meet payroll.

TAGS: bankruptcy, corruption, harvey, municipal pensions, pensions

Rhode Island city offers dire warning to Illinois municipalities struggling with pension debt

By Joe Tabor

06/06/2018

Central Falls, Rhode Island, filed for bankruptcy largely because of pension debt. If Illinois municipalities can’t meet or lower their pension obligations, they too could face fiscal collapse.

TAGS: bankruptcy, harvey, municipal pensions, pensions, spending

Brexit and Chicago’s potential bankruptcy

By Ted Dabrowski, John Klingner

06/25/2016

Pension funds aren’t immune to the volatility of the stock market. Even before Brexit, Moody’s warned that low investment returns are already putting Chicago’s pension funds at risk. A major stock market correction or another recession just might put Chicago and CPS over the edge if their already-underfunded pension systems collapse.

TAGS: bankruptcy, Chicago, municipal pensions, pensions, Rahm Emanuel

Illinois’ fiscal problems drive away GE, spur talk of bankruptcy, pension reform

01/26/2016

The state must get its financial affairs in order by allowing municipal bankruptcy and enacting real pension reforms.

TAGS: bankruptcy

Bankruptcy talk hits Chicago: Illinois governor proposes bankruptcy for Chicago Public Schools

01/22/2016

Gov. Bruce Rauner and Republican state lawmakers have proposed bankruptcy for Chicago Public Schools; Mayor Rahm Emanuel has rejected the idea of bankruptcy, repeating his demand that Illinois taxpayers bail out the struggling school district.

TAGS: bankruptcy, Chicago

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

Illinois finds itself at a crossroads: will it empower minorities and poor people to unleash their potential, or will it perpetuate an inequitable status quo? For far too many Illinoisans, opportunity is unfairly and unnecessarily out of reach. Illinois ranks in the bottom ten among all states in social mobility and last among Midwest states...

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Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

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Martin Sahagun

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students