http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/23606863-418/senate-passes-funeral-home-bill-gop-denounces-it-as-gift-to-union.html “This is a shameless attempt by the Teamsters Local 727 — essentially a single family-run business — to commandeer the legislative process for leverage in both an isolated labor dispute and a federal lawsuit [in 2011] against Teamster leadership alleging violations of federal racketeering laws” in the handling of union benefits funds, said Larry Michael, managing director of SCI Illinois Services Inc.

A half-dozen U.S. House Republicans from Illinois are asking the state’s top insurance official to answer questions related to President Barack Obama’s health care law. via Reps ask: How many Illinois insurance cancellations – DailyHerald.com.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/07/usa-illinois-pensions-idUSL2N0IS1YQ20131107

“Chicago Park District’s $971 million pension shortfall that threatens 6,100 existing park employees or retirees…. Current employees would be asked to contribute up to 2 percent more out of their paychecks by 2019 while the park district would up its contributions to the system by $75 million during that period. Always remember: today’s “unfunded pension liabilit” = tomorrow’s tax, except insofar as employees are asked to contribute more. That $75 million will have to be raised from Chicago taxpayers. via House passes pension fix for park district – Chicago Sun-Times.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20131107/BLOGS02/131109867/no-degree-no-address-nine-names-and-one-great-state-job?r=8332E8774912D3C “A woman who until recently was the No. 2 official in an Illinois government unit that regulates the securities industry lied about her academic background, used multiple names on government records and listed a home address that turned out to be a UPS storefront, according to an internal state investigation.” “The woman also billed the state for work as a home-health aide for hundreds of days when she was supposed to be working as the $75,000-a-year deputy director of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s Department of Securities, the investigation finds.” The little known Securities Department of the Illinois

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-06/illinois-evading-pension-fix-leads-state-gaps-wider-muni-credit.html

http://watchdog.org/114898/illinois-pushes-obamacare-enrollment-prison/

Naperville considers pension double-dipping transparency reform

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/ill-lawmakers-ok-tax-breaks-but-no-pension-deal/article_bc828613-027d-5e5c-b2f1-a7680de0f78f.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-06/illinois-pension-said-to-shop-500-million-in-fund-stakes.html Illinois teachers’ pension selling a large chunk of illiquid private equity holdings. The fund is essentially bleeding out: Neither contributions coming in nor earnings on its assets are enough to meet promises made to pensioners.