Totaling the unsustainable tax increases and windfall revenue during Pritzker Administration – Wirepoints
May 26, 2026
10 Comments
With $162 billion more from taxpayers, couldn’t you deliver a few bond upgrades, too
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A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.
Illegal Ponzi Scheme
Another tidbit to consider are pension management fees. Well over $300M in fees regardless of returns per year. That comes off the top. When I brought this up years ago to my local state rep he said he would look into it and when he brought up it basically died in committee. Sometime after that California Calper’s paid over $1B in yearly fee’s and were in the process of trying to reduce the number of money managers and fees in half. Now add in Tier 1 retirees before 2010 who could spike the sky at the end of career and… Read more »
Freddy, do you have an estimate of the assets under management? $300 million sounds like a very large number, but what is that as a percentage of AUM?
Yes. Check out http://www.ballotpedia.org and search “public pension management fees”. Many numbers there.These are older figures and I’m trying to find more updated numbers. For example compare Alabama’s total assets at $28B and fees of only $13M with a higher return to Illinois assets of $57B and fees of $313M. Fees are 10 times more in Illinois with only twice the assets. Check out California #’s. If you have newer figures that would help.Where is the money going? Probably to the well politically well connected. This will get you some idea even though it is older info. The fees may… Read more »
There was more info at the Civic Federation about TRS fees in 2017 at $778.6M or 1.58% due to some reporting change. Illinois was top on the list for fees % wise. Just search” Illinois pension management fees” Regardless these fees eventually come out of taxpayers pockets. I was way low on fees if this info is correct.
Fantastic job Ted & John. Why did you choose to state pension debt as $137 billion vrs the true $240+ billion (moodys & others) pension debt figure?
Good question. We review each other’s articles and I missed that, too, so blame me as well.
Does that $240+B include the approx $73B in lifetime healthcare costs?
No Hope, DOA.
Leave as soon as you can.