Skokie is latest Illinois community paying pensions by borrowing

By Patrick Andriesen

01/20/2022

The village of Skokie issued $176 million in new bonds to fund shortfalls in public safety pensions. The village joins a growing list of municipalities forced to borrow to meet “unsustainable” pension obligations.

TAGS: bonds, debt, pensions, Skokie

Federal Reserve throws credit lifeline to near-junk Illinois

04/16/2020

The Federal Reserve announced unprecedented plans to directly purchase up to $500 billion in state and local government bonds. States with poorly managed finances, such as Illinois, stand to benefit most, but long-term threats loom without structural reforms.

TAGS: bonds, borrowing, coronavirus, COVID-19, credit rating, Federal Reserve, rainy day fund

Illinois moves closer to becoming first ‘junk’ state with negative credit outlook

04/12/2020

Illinois’ financial outlook was changed from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’ by two major ratings firms, raising the risk the state’s credit rating will formally fall to non-investment grade status.

TAGS: bonds, credit rating, debt, Moody's Investor Service, Standard & Poor's

Pritzker’s accounting gimmicks can’t fix pension crisis, but real reform can

02/21/2020

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker previously floated a pension plan that included pawning-off state assets, taking on more high-interest debt and reducing pension funding before walking back the plan amid criticism. Here’s a real solution.

TAGS: bonds, budget, COLA: cost of living adjustment, credit rating, fair tax, Illinois Constitution, Illinois Department of Revenue, JB Pritzker, Moody's Investor Service, pensions, progressive income tax, Standard & Poor's

Chicago’s 2020 budget proposal was never truly balanced

By Bill Reveille

11/26/2019

Faced with the impossible task of balancing Chicago’s budget without pension reform, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is forced to partially rely on phantom cuts and revenues.

TAGS: bonds, budget, CAFR: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Chicago, Chicago City Council, Chicago City Hall, constitutional amendment, CTA: Chicago Transit Authority, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, deficit, emergency fee, homelessness, housing market, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, interest rates, library, Lori Lightfoot, Lyft, property taxes, Rahm Emanuel, real estate, real estate transfer tax, tax hikes, tax increase, TIF: Tax Increment Financing, Uber

Illinois banks $400M in savings from pension buyouts it can’t calculate

By Bill Reveille

04/11/2019

Illinois borrows money to reduce pension obligations, with more borrowing planned. Claims $400 million in current budget savings, but admits to investors it cannot calculate any savings.

TAGS: Accelerated Pension Benefit Payment, bonds, borrowing, debt, JB Pritzker, pension guarantee, pensions

S&P to Pritzker: Pension reform only way to avoid ‘junk’ credit rating

By Vincent Caruso

02/24/2019

A report from one of the largest credit rating agencies criticized Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “dubious” budget proposal for avoiding necessary fiscal reforms.

TAGS: bonds, credit rating, debt, municipal pensions, pension guarantee, pensions, Standard & Poor's

Repeating past mistakes: Pritzker proposes borrowing, stretching out payment ramp as pension solution

By Brad Weisenstein

02/15/2019

Trying to fix a massive pension deficit with more tax increases, deferring payments and gambling with taxpayer money is a recipe for failure.

TAGS: bonds, borrowing, credit rating, Dan Hynes, JB Pritzker, pension guarantee, pensions, progressive income tax

Moody’s: New taxes could accelerate Illinois exodus

By Vincent Caruso

02/08/2019

Ahead of Gov. Pritzker’s first budget address, one of the “big three” credit rating services warned the new governor against raising taxes.

TAGS: bonds, credit rating, JB Pritzker, Mike Madigan, Moody's Investor Service

Park Ridge voters to decide on $350 property tax hike for median homeowner

10/29/2018

Voters in Maine Township High School District 207 will consider Nov. 6 whether to approve a $195 million bond referendum to update its three high schools in northern Cook County.

TAGS: ballot referendums, bonds, property taxes, taxes

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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Brandi Lentz

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

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