Ted joined Steve Cochran to talk about Chicago’s massive pension debts, how lawmakers are about to increase those debts by adding benefits to police and fire pensions, why Chicago residents can soon expect a major tax hike, why Illinois is stuck in a vicious cycle of residents leaving, and more.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Chicago pensions nearly insolvent, yet lawmakers look to boost public safety pension benefits
- Chicago’s pursuit of ‘criminal justice reform’ an utter failure: Windy City homicides top nation for 11th year in a row with crime still rising.
- Walmart’s flight from Chicago: ‘Corporate racism?’ Or crime, taxes and dysfunction?
- The CTA ran near-empty trains and buses during the pandemic – and it’s still struggling to fill them. Now it wants higher taxes on Chicagoans to pay for that mismanagement.
- Illinois has been bleeding its wealthiest residents for years. Now it’s Ken Griffin’s turn to leave.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Don’t worry – The union hacks and marxist Democrats say there is a secret goody room in Springfield filled with magic beans.
Pensions funded by an unbalanced budget are not constitutional.
This topic has been discussed repeatedly and even as recently as 2-3 days ago. Where have ya been, Bubba? That term “balanced budget” has applied legally to IL state budgets without successful legal challenges for many years already. The man-in-streets takes the viewpoint you seem to have. Even so, the term as implied in the IL Constitution has been given tacit legal approval over and over to have a broader, more forgiving meaning.
You’re back Aaron. You need to go directly to the source, the Illinois Constitution. No such provision exists but good to have you back spreading the same old lies. A balanced budget that ensures expenditures do not exceed revenue does not exist in the language of our constitution. Also, the pension expenditure authorized is the statutory amount not the actuarial amount. Completely constitutional.
Show the language of the constitution to prove me wrong. We all know that you can’t but it’s fun to watch you attempt to spin your lies.
Here’s some info from Ballotpedia https://ballotpedia.org/Fact_check/Is_Illinois_constitutionally_required_to_have_a_balanced_budget_before_the_start_of_a_fiscal_year (b) The General Assembly by law shall make appropriations for all expenditures of public funds by the State. Appropriations for a fiscal year shall not exceed funds estimated by the General Assembly to be available during that year. (Source: Illinois Constitution.) You are correct that the word “balanced’ is not specifically in the Constitution but it does say make appropriations for “All” expenditures not just “Some” and appropriations shall not exceed. This sounds like the definition of balanced even though the word itself is not there. Equilibrium comes to mind. Here is the definition… Read more »
All expenditures. The state has not authorized an actuarial expenditure for pensions but only a statutory one. There is no requirement to fully fund pensions only that pensioners are paid. “appropriations for “All” expenditures not just “Some” and appropriations shall not exceed” Shall not exceed what Freddy? Revenue? No. Instead it shall not exceed “funds estimated by the GA to be available during the year. Funds available does not necessarily mean tax revenue. Borrowed money is also “funds available”. It’s also all an estimate. The GA could estimate revenue to be pretty much anything they wanted and if they come… Read more »
Curious-Why is the state shorting the pension appropriation by $4.4B. You’ve said the voters have voted for them and yet once the pols get elected they lie to you and me and to everyone to stay in office. So the fault seems to lie with the voters. This after all is what they wanted. Most of the legislators are George Santos Clones.
It’s the same old story over and over again. Voters like expenditures when it’s to their benefit, but they truly hate governmental expenditures that benefit other people. So, to get more favorable voters the government keeps expanding the numbers of people who benefit by creating more types of voters. It’s not a brainy strategy long-term, but it works well enough in shorter-range election cycles even while some of that benefit funding is shaky in actuarial terms. Some day that will bring the necessity for major changes in the number of such programs/laws, who remains eligible and/or what funds them.
Freddy, That’s the Edgar pension ramp in action. They aren’t shorting them from a budgetary standpoint but shorting them from an actuarial one. This isn’t new. It’s happened every year since the ramp was passed. Pensioners have sued the state to demand full actuarial payment and we’re denied by the courts. They also aren’t lying as no one running for office has said they will make full actuarial contributions. The voters don’t care about fully funding them so politicians don’t even talk about it. Remember that full funding would require more taxes and/or cuts to services. People don’t get elected… Read more »
Correct. I am trying to look at the big picture. Whether or not all the payments are made no pensioner loses a check. If it’s 30% funded or 50% everyone is still paid. That said what is the actuarial table criteria and by whom. Is it SS tables? Whatever the source the projected life expectancy has been reduced due to Covid and other metrics by at least 2 years for most but close to 3.5 years for African Americans.What are the tables for any particular union lets say TRS based on? TRS has many members both working and retired but… Read more »
Here’s some info to the person that disagreed with my assessment.
https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/what-doctors-wish-patients-knew-about-falling-us-life-expectancy?utm_id=3rd-22432-flight2&utm_effort=DATPAD&inpwrd_lid=189fc2f4-83e9-4180-ae41-d7b0a537fc94&inpwrd_cid=330227755&yhdsp_publisher=yahoo.com
From Illinois Policy
“We can’t let our state operate as a public pension fund above all else. Doing nothing endangers the long-term retirement security of Illinois’ public servants, along with the ability to provide core services. The only pension protection that ultimately guarantees a secure retirement for public workers is a sustainable, fully funded pension system. A “hold harmless” pension reform plan, similar to one originally developed by the Illinois Policy Institute and based loosely on bipartisan 2013 reforms, could help to eliminate the state’s unfunded pension liability and secure retirements for pensioners.”
I can’t wait for the pension bomb to go off. The public sector employees have been living on a gravy train. I want to see their faces when their pension payments stop because there’s no more money. The government can’t confiscate more, because you’ll get more out migration than already is happening. So the politicians will just shrug their shoulders and those public sector folks will just suck it. Have a nice day.
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/schadenfreude
Keep dreaming Johny boy. The gravy is going to keep on coming plus 3% more gravy every January. Plenty of money for pensions and bondholders just not enough for all those other spending initiatives. You’ll be left with more tax increases if you want to keep the same level of services.
Sure to be a big selling point when trying to raise more cash from the bond markets:
Invest in Illinois! Not enough money for public services, no economic growth, rampant crime! Your investment will be used to pay public pensioners. But don’t worry, there will be enough left over to pay back your investment, plus interest!
Sounds like a winner to me.
Bondholders only care about getting their money back plus interest so yes that is the big selling point. As long as they believe they will get paid back they will continue to buy our bonds. They don’t care that some guy from Rockford pays high property taxes or that income tax rates need to increase or services need to be taxed. If the state ever lacks the ability to increase tax revenue, bondholders would be right there with pensioners demanding full payment even if other services need to be cut. As they should. If you don’t like it then start… Read more »
Chicago is on the last train to Palookaville
Nothing but a economic disaster in the making. This is totally unsustainable. Intentionally bankrupting the Chitty. Fits the definition of a Ponzi scheme to the T.