Tag Archives: Illinois Pension Systems

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The Push for a Graduated Income Tax as Illinois Hurtles Towards the Abyss

If Governor J.B. Pritzker has his way, Illinois will institute a graduated income tax to replace its flat 4.95 percent tax rate. The governor claims that increasing the tax rate will generate billions in new revenue while only raising taxes on the wealthiest 3 percent of taxpayers with income of more than $250,000.

Before legislators can consider the proposal, however, voters must first pass a referendum that removes language in the state constitution mandating a flat income tax rate. They face an uphill battle: though Democrats control the Illinois General Assembly, the rules require that the referendum for a state …

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Illinois State Pensions: Overpromised, Not Underfunded

Why is the Illinois Family Institute publishing another article about state government employee pensions? Because excessive taxes in Illinois are putting a strain on Illinois families -- and 25 percent of our state budget pays those overly-generous pensions. Now, policy experts Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner have provided yet more evidence that “A dramatic rise in pension benefits -- not funding shortfalls -- caused Illinois’ state pension crisis.”
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As Its Population Drops, Illinois Has Highest Pension Burden in Nation

Since it is the Christmas season, I chose not to title this article “The Dumbest People in America.” But how else do you describe a state that has 25 percent of its budget going to pay government employee pensions and its voters who continue electing the same people who won't do a thing about it?
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The Illinois Pension Scam: Unconstitutional and Corrupt

Before citing a few facts and linking to a few articles from the Illinois Policy Institute, let me outline reality in simple terms: the pensions systems cannot be fixed. They need to be shut down, taxpayers should be cut free from the scam, and the state government should get out of the pension business. After decades, it has proven incapable of being trusted with tax dollars for employee pensions.
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The Illinois Pension Scam: There is No Excuse for the Failure of Reform

In preparation for the recording of an IFA Spotlight weekly podcast, executive director Dave Smith asked me to do some research about the Illinois government’s employee pension problem. For me, it is not a fun topic to delve into because for a dozen years now I’ve watched elected conservative state legislators completely ignore the seriousness of the legalized theft that has been going on in Illinois for decades as it pertains to pensions.

Yes, legalized theft. How else can you describe someone paying into a fund about $154,000 over the course of their working years and then expect $2,200,000 …

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