A statewide concern: Illinois’ population decline outpaces neighboring states – Wirepoints on ABC20 Champaign
“We are not in good shape” Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski told ABC 20 Champaign during a segment on Illinois’ latest population losses. Illinois was one of just three states to shrink in the 2010-2020 period and has lost another 300,000 people since then. Ted says things need to change. “It’s too expensive to live here, there aren’t enough good jobs and nobody trusts the government anymore. There’s just other places to go where you can be more satisfied.”
Step 1. Add sentence to State Constitution in 1970 stating pension and “retirement system” benefits are contractual and cannot be diminished or impaired. Step 2. From 1971 on, unions lobby for and receive hiked pension and retiree healthcare benefits even though they are underfunded because funding doesn’t matter because the benefits cannot be diminished or impaired. Administrators and politicians are in pension systems also so they don’t complain. Step 3. Minimize the effects of the scheme to the public. When looking at the effect of legislative pension and retiree healthcare benefit hikes, only go back to the mid 1990’s, not… Read more »