Wirepoints and Ed Bachrach of the Center for Pension Integrity make the case that it would be political malpractice for state lawmakers to sweeten Tier 2 pension benefits. There’s nothing from the IRS itself — nor from the state’s actuaries or any government employer — that shows any individual is out of compliance with IRS rules.
Read “Illinois taxpayers deserve answers before state pension costs rise” here
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Another black mark. Illinois has nation’s 3rd-highest corporate income tax rate.
- Pritzker admin’s past and future spending excesses mean $23 billion in upcoming deficits
- Illinois lawmakers shouldn’t burden taxpayers with Tier 2 pension “fixes” until they know what they’re doing
- Illinois pension debts hit $144 billion in 2024, make a mockery of politicians’ decades of ‘balanced budgets’
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.
Good work here. I was not aware that the only ones saying there is a problem are lawmakers and unions. And that the problem is only for those whose income is above $125,000. The median income for households in Illinois is $81,702 so if that fact gets out people will realize they are paying to support Illinois government employees who already have more money than them.
Lots of pensions are over $81,702 amount and they do not pay any Illinois income tax. They also increase 3% every year. Many start at around age 50, social security is 67 going higher. So suck it up and pay out the a$$.
Also, they pay no social security tax either. Their after-tax income is much greater than someone paying all the taxes from earned income.
Is this a fake picture? The Suntimes actually focused on the pension problem– that WP and others have talked about for years and years while the Suntimes and Trib had their heads in the sand! Wow! It took a while WP but you finally got those loafers off their fannies.
FANTASTIC JOB WP!!!!, pieces like this are the reason I’m proud to be a WP $contributor$!!!! Shocker!!! that ST would include a WP article!!!. Questions; The sited (linked Trib/Civ FED/BGA article) $82 billion Tier II pension “fix”, to essentially move all TIER II back to TIER I pensions (HB5909) thru 2045 is ONLY for 4 state pension plans and not city of Chicago and other municipal pensions I assume? Same as state sponsored $30 billion “fix” SEGAL actuary analysis (https://www.pionline.com/pension-funds/illinois-tier-2-pension-reform-bill-could-cost-state-30-billion-actuary-says) for Tier II pension “fix” (HB5909)? So big questions: How do these two actuarial analysis come up with $83 billion… Read more »
The state’s credit rating would go to junk even if the 30 billion plan was passed. It’s not possible to raise taxes to that amount or make cuts. Rich Miller even admitted it has no way of happening, as did Martwick. The greedy, lazy unions lose this one. Too many eyes are on this union scam now, including the Federal Government.
The crazier proposals are making the several billion dollar “fix” – raising the pensionable salary cap – more palatable. That’s the way it works.
And that’s the problem with incremental fixes like the 2010 reforms…they don’t stick. All the covid money and the credit upgrades now have the unions clawing back what they gave up in 2010. And predictably, with no one to push back, the pols will cave.
It’s why we need to eliminate pensions altogether going forward. They are too easy to manipulate.
Math will take care of this, because the math doesn’t work even without the pensions being increased, even more so if they are. But as I said, Miller and Martwick both admitted it won’t work. JB also is not for it, and neither is math or reality. It loses one way or another Ted. It’s impossible to work.
Yup, Rich’s buddy, Mr pubic sec unions best friend- Martwick, admits CGFA sponsored Segal actuarial study that came up with cost for HB5909 “fix” at $30 bil thru 2045 is way to expensive when in reality the “fix” is more like $80 bil. So, clearly Martwick, Kifowit, and crew just thru that Segal report out to see how few dopey taxpayers are even paying attention. And Martwick says the Segal actuarial study is just a starting point for further negotiations, or the machine could or will settle for less than returning TIER II to TIER Is (HB5909). Or, in other… Read more »
IL already has the highest tax burden in the nation and is losing productive people. The state is tapped out. Reality will win, and it is undefeated.
They have already given us their answer, as attested by several commenters here on Wirepoints. Their answer is “shut up and pay me”.
Like Vultures picking at a carcass before it is dead, CTU’s tactic is to get ahead of all the other public unions to the inevitable financial collapse, rob Chicago blind and leave a trail of bonds, loans and other unpayable debts in a smoking dumpster of ruin. “First lets gets the money” means “Weze gots ours, everyone else can pound sand.” The clawbacks will be an epic Public Union on Public Union hair pulling eye gouging broken nails cat fight.
First, are Tier 2 benefits actually in violation of the law stating they have to be at least equal to SS. If they are not in violation, case closed. If they are not in compliance, then it will have to be addressed.
That is reality.
Simply put, Pensions are way too generous, and NO ONE can afford them.
Expect taxes to keep going up and services to keep going down. The numbers do not even come close to adding up. A balanced budget is only a dream.
Only choice is to pay more taxes or leave the state.
The homeless do not pay taxes, so there is another choice.
Ordinarily the IRS wouldn’t seek to revoke the taxi qualified status of a government plan but Trump’s IRS might do this as a major tweak to Chicago and Illinois. This and other challenges may be just what the doctor ordered to bring politicians and public employees to their senses.