Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is being sentenced in federal court on corruption charges for trying to sell President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat. The sentencing hearing is expected to last until Wednesday. Follow the latest from Twitter and across the web.
Tag Archive | "Blagojevich"
Not a good week to be an Illinois governor
October 28, 2011
By Andrew Thomason | Illinois Statehouse News
SPRINGFIELD — This week didn’t hold a lot of good news for Illinois governors, past and present.
The Legislature bucked Gov. Pat Quinn on several hot-button issues and moved to prevent former Gov. Rod Blagojevich from receiving his state retirement checks during its first week of a two-week fall veto session.
Lawmakers move to make sure Blago doesn’t get pension checks
October 26, 2011
By Benjamin Yount | Illinois Statehouse News
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers are dead set against Rod Blagojevich getting another dime from Illinois taxpayers.
Pols: Verdict allows state to move past Blagojevich
June 27, 2011
By Benjamin Yount Illinois Statehouse News
SPRINGFIELD — There are few kind or sad words from Illinois’ political leaders for Rod Blagojevich.
The feeling from leaders in Springfield and Washington, D.C., is that Illinois can move on, now that a federal jury convicted the former governor on 17 of 20 corruption charges.
What are the political costs of Quinn’s planned special session?
June 14, 2011
By Diane S.W. Lee Illinois Statehouse News
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois taxpayers will foot the daily expense for a legislative special session, but Gov. Pat Quinn could pay the political price.
Pensions to be paid without borrowing, first time in two years
April 19, 2011
By Andrew Thomason Illinois Statehouse News
SPRINGFIELD — Paying bills from your checking account usually isn’t a big deal, unless you’re the state of Illinois.
The General Assembly approved a plan to pay about $4.5 billion into its various pension systems during the upcoming fiscal year using cash instead of borrowing. It's the first time that has happened in two years.
“This is a message that we’re no longer going to kick the can down the road,” State Sen. Dan Kotowski, D-Park Ridge, said. “It’s going to allow us to keep a commitment we made as Democrats this year that we’re going to fully fund our pension system and that borrowing is no longer going to be an option.”
It wasn’t just Democrats who applauded the idea of using cash on hand to fund the pension system. The plan had the support of most Republicans in the Legislature, too. State Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, called the move a step in the right direction.
“Our side of the aisle has been very committed to making the pension payment with cash rather than borrowing for years, so I appreciate this effort,” Murphy said.
Legislators said that with the pension payment out of the way, they can go forward on deciding how to divvy up the rest of the state’s general revenue fund.
Illinois sold $3.7 billion in bonds in February and $3.5 billion in bonds in January 2010 to cover this year’s pension payment.
The state’s unfunded pension liabilities — how much the state has promised to pay employees when they retire minus funds that will be available for pensions — stands at $79 billion, according to a recent report from the University of Illinois’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs.
According the Sunshine Review, other estimates put the unfunded liability at more than $190 billion. Taxpayers guarantee benefits whether the state has money to pay them or not.
Politicians in Illinois have a history of neglecting the five state-run pension funds. Gov. Rod Blagojevich would skip paying the funds some years, calling them pension “holidays” and funneling the money to other areas of state government.
J. Fred Giertz, is a professor of economics at the University of Illinois and a member of the Institute of Government and Public affairs. He explained at a recent symposium on Illinois’ pension systemsthat when revenue slows for governments, it’s easier to skirt payments that don’t have an immediate effect.
“If you don’t have enough money, what do you do? Well if you don’t want to raise taxes, you don’t want to make cuts, you simply don’t put all the money into the pension system that’s need that particular year,” Giertz said. “And nothing bad happens right away, but you do that year after year after year and sort of the opposite of compound interest (happens).”
Money not put into the funds is money that can’t be invested and therefore can’t bring in a return.
“One hundred million dollars not put in 20 years ago becomes a $1 billion shortfall today,” Giertz went on to say.
Giertz said that If the state had made all required payments the system would be close to fully funded, though the state would still be facing financial problems if it borrowed to make those payments.
“Pensions are a manifestation, a way we were able to fund a situation where we were spending more than we were taking in year after year, and that has obviously come to a head,” he added.
This “second tier” of employees must wait until they are 67 years old, instead of 60 years old, to retire to get their full benefits. Additionally, the new law limits cost of living adjustments to 3 percent or half of the actual inflation rate, whichever is less. However none of those changes have any impact on what the state already owes employees.
There has been talk of further changes, including possible changes to current employees’ benefits, though the constitutionality of that has come into question and no legislation has been introduced.
- Tax credit expiration could slow wind’s rise in IL, but still plenty to export
- IL seeks to add 100K people to Medicaid program
- Video: GOP leaders react to state of the state
- Video: Jil Tracy on state of the state
- ISN fact checks Quinn’s State of the State
- Quinn’s speech raises questions for IL lawmakers
- IL gov lays out jobs plan, cloudy on funding source
- Video: Dave Syverson on state of the state
- Video: Jerry Costello on jobs
- IL lawmakers want more than job talk from Gov. Quinn
- House Committee Approves Gun Legislations
- Horse Slaughter Measure Clears First Statehouse Hurdle
- Supreme Court says only residents need FOID gun card
- Top Dems: Deal on Illinois Tax Hike
- Parents heated over potential home-school regulations
- Lawmakers Fear Deja Vu with Budget
- Organizations Petition for Illinois Fair Map Amendment
- Free Rides for Seniors May Be Hitting Last Stop
- Pension Debt Could “Squeeze Out” State Services
- Two-Tiered Pension System Moves on to Quinn