Totaling the unsustainable tax increases and windfall revenue during Pritzker Administration – Wirepoints
May 26, 2026
3 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.
Going unsaid in many of these pension articles is how pensions are calculated. In most cases public pensions are based on the highest year of pay. In many cases, public employes, with the support of their unions, will work every hour of overtime possible during their last year of service, sometimes creating a pension obligation for the city that exceeds the base pay of the employe. Governments need to get a handle on this problem and base pensions on base pay for a year, not an inflated year with many, many hours of overtime.
What you have stated in regards to overtime spiking a public employee pensions in some places, but its an uncommon method for pension determinations. You make it seem otherwise. Yes, generally the last year’s wages (not including overtime) are used in such calculations but in general its average of the last several years that matters overall rather than that final year alone, depending upon the system. People are entitled to any pension that the rules of law allow. Argue with those who can change the law and not the people following the law.
Come on, have the guts to double or triple real estate taxes so that your citizens can see you for what you are. They need to pay through the nose for the subpar services and schools they have. They need to feel the pain so some government loser, who never worked a real job or a real day in his life, can retire comfortably to Florida. This is the system they conned you stupes into voting for and now it’s too late. There’s no going back. So go ahead and raise taxes 100%, 200% 300%. None of your masters care.… Read more »
The Forest Park board member/former editor of their paper concedes that they cannot catch-up, or fully fund the pensions. And tripling the real estate tax would drive many out of their homes. What we will see are deep cuts that lead to a significant state of misery.
Hmm, I keep getting paid but it doesn’t seem to go as far as it used to……