By: Mark Glennon*   Cynical as we are on this site, I confess to being stunned by some of the numbers about municipal salaries and pensions in The ‘Big Dogs’ Of Illinois Municipal Government in Forbes this week.   Read every word of it.   Rank and file county employees making over $300,000 per year. A school treasurer/administrator who double dipped the Teacher’s Retirement System and the Illinois Municipal pensions for a combined 2014 income of over $485,000. Small town mayors making over $200,000 per year. Spikers, double dippers and just plain pigs, all gone wild.   Worst of all, public

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150129/NEWS02/150129748/rauner-staff-receiving-higher-pay-than-quinns

http://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/January-2015/Where-Poverty-Is-Highest-in-Illinois/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-bruce-rauner-champaign-appearance-met-0130-20150129-story.html

Illinois’ best jobs month of the year, 2014 wrap up

http://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-bill-backlog-reached-5-9-billion-in-december-2014/

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/bolingbrook/community/chi-ugc-article-representative-ron-sandack-files-bill-to-allo-2015-01-27-story.html Comment: This is a key, immediate agenda item for Illinois. Get on with the debate, at long last.

Despite the overwhelming evidence that current pension policies cannot be sustained and don’t meet the needs of the 21st century teacher workforce, state lawmakers, regulators and pension boards continue to deny or ignore the crisis. http://nctq.org/dmsView/Doing_the_Math

The feds have really delivered for Dixon, from the investigation and prosecution of Rita Crundwell’s $50 million theft through their work in forfeiture and restitution. http://www.saukvalley.com/2015/01/28/the-feds-deliver-for-dixon/anifbga/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

http://www.qconline.com/news/local/trial-lawyers-say-illinois-may-not-be-as-bad-off/article_d763a1fe-d5e3-5a3a-927d-e83cb2f10ea9.html Germs explaining why disease is not a problem.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/28/illinois-attorney-general-gives-pay-raises-as-stat/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_reader=feedly