While shifting the state’s normal cost obligations onto school districts may provide some relief to the state’s budget it will not mitigate these financial obligations, and will instead push them onto school districts that, on average, already derive the majority of their revenue from local sources. One of the grave concerns I have about the leading proposals is that so many of our elected officials seem perfectly content to shift all of the costs onto universities and school districts while maintaining legislative control over the design of the benefits package. This is a mistake on so many levels. The separation of responsibility and control is a recipe for fiscal shenanigans.
Moving forward, comprehensive reforms will need to be implemented to create a more fiscally sound system which does not compromise employee retirement security and public employer competitiveness. Illinois’ pension system must do a better job of improving employee’s retirement security. Most public employees in Illinois do not participate in Social Security, leaving their State of Illinois pension as their primary source of retirement savings. But before policy changes can be made finding common ground from all stakeholders is essential and respect for our current retires is mandatory. Funding guarantees for the pension systems must be enacted into law. A statutory funding guarantee would ensure that all future state government contributions are made in full when they are due. Most other states operate with these guarantees and in Illinois the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund benefits from this type of mandated payments.
The General Assembly Retirement System, created in 1947, is the smallest of Illinois’ five public retirement funds covering only state legislators and a few of the state’s constitutional officers. The General Assembly Retirement System has two tiers, one for those who became participants before Jan. 1, 2011 and another for those after that date. In Tier 1, legislators are eligible for retirement at 55 with at least eight years of credit or at 62 with at least four years of credit. Tier 2 participants are eligible for the same benefits at 67 with at least eight years of credit or for reduced benefits at 62.
While serving in the General Assembly is considered a part-time job, I would reflect upon the types of out-side employment performed by the legislators before considering a decision on this pension issue. In order to satisfy the service demanded of a legislator that legislator’s employer would have to very understanding due to the amount of time served outside of the legislator’s primary position. This self -selection would enable only those who could financially afford to leave their full time job to serve in the General Assembly. The pool of candidates would be economically homogeneous, preventing a diversity of true representation. Service to the community goes beyond the time in Springfield. I support pensions for legislatures and would advise those who do not need a pension to voluntarily withdraw from the fund.
The recent three year budget projection issued by the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget as part of the Budgeting for Results process, indicates that the human services budget will receive a significant cut of $350 million dollars from FY2012 to FY2013. Faced with cuts of this magnitude, human services providers will reduce hours, lay off staff, close facilities, or do all of these things. Not only does this impact thousands of Illinois families who rely on these programs, but the cuts will have a direct economic consequence on our state. According The Center of Tax and Budget Accountability, the $1.64 billion dollar cumulative underfunding of human services since 2002 have directly led to the loss of over 18,000 private sector jobs.
The vast majority of the spending reductions means a leaner services for the state’s 2.7 million Medicaid patients. The cuts end prescription drug coverage for nearly 200,000 senior citizens and eliminate health coverage entirely for 35,000 adults. Regular dental care for adult has been eliminated and only people with diabetes can now see a podiatrist. Prior state approval would be required for wheelchair repairs, heart bypass surgery and obesity surgery. Patients would be limited to four prescription drugs per month without prior approval. Nursing homes with healthy residents have received a 10 percent cut in payments, while those with more fragile patients will face cuts of 1 percent. Institutions for Mental Disease, a type of nursing home with mostly mentally ill residents, will see cuts of 7%
There is not a shortage of compassion but our communities will never be able to financially replace what is being taken away by the state. According to one nonprofit manger “When someone reaches out to us for the first time, all of their pride and dignity has been swallowed to make that phone call. We can refer them to another agency, ask them to be proactive and put them on a waiting list, but when we finally can help them it may just be too late.”
Pension reforms needs to be laid out in its entirely and carefully decided upon during regular session before a deal is reached. It is highly irresponsible to quickly push through legislation pertaining to such a sensitive issue
The 2011 legislature barely passed an income tax rate increase that temporarily raises the tax from 3 to 5 percent; corporate taxes were increase to 7 percent from its previous 4.8 percent. The tax increase is coupled with strict 2 percent limits on spending growth. If the legislature spends above those limits, the tax increase will automatically be canceled. The rate increase might be the biggest any state has adopted in percentage terms nevertheless, Illinois’ tax rate remains lower than other states in the region; Iowa’s top rate is 8.98 percent, Wisconsin’s is 7.75 percent. The legislation has also imposed a moratorium on new programs with spending growth capped at 2% per year, with the exception of increased school aid of more than $700 million. I support the terms and limits of this legislation. The income tax rate hike should be allowed to expire and at that time we should evaluate the current state of our finances and then decide what type of measures should be implemented.
I appreciate the difficulty of legalized gaming, but as Senate President Cullerton sated “ . . .the decision was made long ago to have gaming, so now we find ourselves setting policy for a multibillion-dollar business in heated competition with surrounding states. While we’ve wrung our hands over politics, Indiana puts casinos just across the border so the parking lots can fill with Illinois gamblers while Wisconsin interests hire lobbyists to try to kill off Illinois competition.” A neighbor of mine who was employed at one of the Fox Valley’s local casinos has lost her job, because the casino had to look at measures to maintain its viability. While our casinos are not immune to the recession a lack of support for these gambling institutions will have a direct economic impact upon the Fox Valley as well as the agricultural industry which supports our racetracks. We must act responsibly but we must not disregard the real and positive economic impact that the gambling industry has upon our communities.
Education: Unemployment and underemployment plague our community – this has unfortunately become the norm. Our workforce must have the skills to meet the growing demands of an innovative and technologically driven economy. We need to support STEM education for our children and job retraining opportunities for displaced workers.
Suburban downtown community development: We need to prioritize suburban downtown community development by encouraging public/private business partnerships. The best thing I can do as a State Senator is to make sure our communities are supported.
Governor Pat Quinn, preceding two jailed governors, has brought integrity and ethics back to the Governor’s mansion. He has stewarded Illinois through a time of ethical upheaval and financial crisis. But during these challenging times Quinn needed to engage his supporters, honestly sharing with them the shared sacrifices that will be necessary to revive Illinois’ lagging economy
There are advantages to having costs directly associated with services but any such shift must be done over time in a fair way to the local districts. New employees should be hired with a defined contribution plan (like a 401k), not defined benefit plan. A defined contribution plan would give employees the right to take their account with them when moving to a new job. Current employees and retirees are a more difficult challenge. We must negotiate a reasonable compromise or the state will not be able to fund it’s ongoing social service and education programs.
State legislators are currently paid too much. Direct compensation could be reduced or pension costs could be eliminated. I believe we should also reduce the number of senators to 54 (3 per congressional district) and representatives to 108 (6 per congressional district). This would save the state money and reduce the opportunity for gerrymandering.
Unfortunately, our state has provided an extremely generous Medicaid program that we just can’t afford. Our program needs to be more like surrounding states’ programs. We cannot afford to have our taxpayers pay for half of all the births in Illinois as well as all of the medical costs of one out five of our citizens.
No. Once the voters have spoken, it is wrong for Mike Madigan to pass legislation by promising jobs to those who were not reelected if they will vote along with him for legislation that would not be passed by the newly elected General Assembly.
We MUST make Illinois a more business friendly state in order to create and keep jobs in Illinois. Repealing the 66% hike in our state income tax rates would be a step in the right direction. It must not become permanent if we want to slow the “wealth flight” that is occurring in Illinois right now.
I do not believe that gambling is a reliable long term way to finance our state. However we already have gambling at our race tracks. To keep our tracks competitive with other states, I would be inclined to allow slots at our tracks.
I believe we must make Illinois a more business friendly state. to do that, we need Workman’s Comp reform along with Medicaid and Pension reform. In addition, we need a different attitude in Springfield and in Chicago. Without business expansion, we will have no job or wealth growth in Illinois. These are important issues for entire state, not just my district. I also believe that citizen legislators, rather than career politicians, would make better decisions for our state. As a result, I strongly support term limits for all legislators.
He has failed to provide leadership to turn around the economic disaster in Illinois. He has not been willing (or able) to make the tough decisions so necessary to change our direction. On the positive side, he may be the first governor of Illinois in over a decade to not go to jail after his term ends.
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