Illinois lawmakers approve 66 percent income tax increase

[BillBoard]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_illinois_taxes




SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Democratic Illinois lawmakers beat a looming deadline and approved a 66 percent income-tax increase in a desperate bid to end the state's crippling budget crisis.

Legislative leaders rushed early Wednesday to pass the politically risky plan before a new General Assembly was sworn in at noon, taking a slice out of the Democratic majority and removing lame-duck lawmakers willing to support the tax before leaving office.

The increase now goes to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, who supports the plan to temporarily raise the personal tax rate to 5 percent, a two-thirds increase from the current 3 percent rate. Corporate taxes also would climb as part of the effort to close a budget hole that could hit $15 billion this year.


Pitchforks anyone?

I just hear crickets.

[Sparky]

At 3%, they have one of the lowest rates in the country.

[undgrd]

So What?

66% is still 66%

[osoab]

There went our 2% S.S. tax reduction.

Also note that the corporate rate went up about 46%.

And, while we may have "low" income tax rate, you also need to factor in state sales tax and property taxes.

[mamboni]

Temporary tax increase? What a joke. Can anyone here recall any 'temporary' tax increase that was later revoked?

[osoab]

This will all be used to payoff past debt with a bond offering.

[ShortJohnSilver]

That there is never any maximum or capped rate tells you - they have the legal right to tax you at 100% of your earnings if they so choose. From the Illinois legislature POV you are all slaves who can be handled however your masters wish.

[RJB]

And, while we may have "low" income tax rate, you also need to factor in state sales tax and property taxes.
Yeah, it's one of the reasons why I don't buy gas when I'm driving through. It's usually 10 - 20 cents more a gallon than surrounding states.

[osoab]

And, while we may have "low" income tax rate, you also need to factor in state sales tax and property taxes.
Yeah, it's one of the reasons why I don't buy gas when I'm driving through. It's usually 10 - 20 cents more a gallon than surrounding states.


That's because we have sales tax calculated on top of the gas tax.

Will wonders ever cease?

[Spectrism]

The message to the people of Illinois is this:

We are so confident that you fine people who are still working will be able to dig deeper into your bountiful wealth and pay more for the wasteful spending that we pleasure ourselves with, that we will force you to cover our costs. Thank you fine people!

[JDRock]

the people have SPOKEN! :oo-->

[osoab]

Read some comments about the tax increase.

Your thoughts on income tax increase (http://www.news-gazette.com/news/politics-and-government/2011-01-16/your-thoughts-income-tax-increase.html)

About 40% were for the increase or disgusted that their own tax increase ballot initiatives won't have a snowball's chance anymore.

This would be the educated class folks. The 1 in 7 on foodstamps would say hell yeah raise their taxes. Those on welfare, medicaid, disability, unemployment, and pensions would agree too.

I got to move. :o

[Cobalt]

The problem I see with it is they are increasing taxes too those that pay taxes but not decreasing services too those that pay no tax by the same amount.
I think I even read that the retired state politicians don't pay income tax on their pensions :conf:

[osoab]

The problem I see with it is they are increasing taxes too those that pay taxes but not decreasing services too those that pay no tax by the same amount.
I think I even read that the retired state politicians don't pay income tax on their pensions :conf:



The pension obligations are underfunded by about 40-60 billion. This doesn't include the individual city obligations that have underfunding issues in some of them. There is also a 15 billion or so current account deficit. This "temporary tax increase" is to back bonds that they want to sell. I think Friday that they announced about 8.5 billion issue. Muni yield spiked on Friday. N.J. also had to pull their bond offering, couldn't get yield after their gov told the truth.

ILL Teachers Retirement. Illinois pension may sell $3bn of assets to pay benefits (http://www.globalpensions.com/global-pensions/news/1729705/illinois-pension-sell-usd3bn-assets-pay-benefits) This is out of 33 billion in assets.

I think the numbers I put above for ILL is worse that what I have been telling people.
Shortfall Threatens Illinois Pension System
(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125076655)


Today, the unfunded pension liability in Illinois is much greater than the pension funds' assets, and has ballooned to a staggering $77.8 billion.

The debt can't be payed. This is indicative of most of the states, but ILL's time has just about run out.

To give a perspective of what we are up against.
Illinois Democrats Economic Plans: “Sell More Pop” (http://www.cdobs.com/archive/featured/illinois-democrats-economic-plans-sell-more-pop/)


Sponsoring Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, said the tax increase would generate $375 million a year while also saving billions in the long run by discouraging smokers and saving on health care costs.

The money would be used to “supplement, not supplant” education funding, said Currie.

Opponents included groups representing convenience stores who say the hike will hurt small businesses, particularly along the border where smokers could easily buy cheaper cigarettes out of state.

Currie said those stores should “sell more pop.”

[Horn]

At 3%, they have one of the lowest rates in the country.


Hope there aren't any states with 0 around them.

It will be an exodus.

[osoab]

At 3%, they have one of the lowest rates in the country.


Hope there aren't any states with 0 around them.

It will be an exodus.


STATE INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAXES (http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/ind_inc.pdf)
(Tax rates for tax year 2010 -- as of January 1, 2010)



INDIANA 3.4 1 -----Flat rate----- 1,000 2,000 1,000

MISSOURI 1.5 - 6.0 10 1,000 - 9,000 2,100 4,200 1,200 * (r)

IOWA (a) 0.36 - 8.98 9 1,407 - 63,316 40 (c) 80 (c) 40 (c)

WISCONSIN (a) 4.6 - 7.75 5 10,220 (v) - 225,001 (v) 700 1,400 700

KENTUCKY 2.0 - 6.0 6 3,000 - 75,000 20 (c) 40 (c) 20 (c)


But it's not just those tax rates. It's the sales tax at the local and state level. Property taxes and the multiple of taxing districts compound the issue even further. All unionized too.

[osoab]

Illinois sees increase in food stamp use (http://www.sj-r.com/breaking/x1254710568/Illinois-sees-increase-in-food-stamp-use)


New statistics from the state's food stamp program show an increase in those receiving assistance in Illinois.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports Saturday that numbers from the Illinois Department of Human Services show about 857,000 households enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in December. That's 12.7 percent more than a year earlier.

Estimate for 09 was about 12,910,409 (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/17000.html)

Comes out to 6.6%. Seems way low to me.

edit.

It said households. Now we get some good numbers. Lets say 3 per household. That is about 20% of the population.

4 per household gets us to 26.5% getting food stamps. Damn. National reported average is around 14.2%.

So how is it in Indiana?

[osoab]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2011-01/58805101.jpg

[osoab]

Were so screwed.

Neighboring states gleeful over Ill. tax increase (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110113/ap_on_re_us/us_broken_budgets_battling_for_business)


"It's like living next door to `The Simpsons' — you know, the dysfunctional family down the block," Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said in an interview on Chicago's WLS-AM.



"Years ago Wisconsin had a tourism advertising campaign targeted to Illinois with the motto, `Escape to Wisconsin,'" Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said in a statement. "Today we renew that call to Illinois businesses, `Escape to Wisconsin.' You are welcome here."



But Illinois' governor rejected the idea that the increase would allow other states to lure jobs away. "Lots of luck to them, but that's not going to happen," Quinn said at a news conference Wednesday.

Walker sees Illinois tax increase as foot in the door (http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/113351034.html)


Now Walker said he wants to turn the tables and announce soon a marketing campaign that could include buying billboard space proclaiming that Wisconsin is a good place for business. Walker said he planned to accompany the Wisconsin Department of Commerce on prospecting trips to Illinois and St. Paul, Minn., to meet with executives.

[Apparition]

As if that'll reduce their financial deficit.

I think this will do nothing more than encourage the Illinois politicians to continue governmental expansion because of the false sense of financial security that this tax increase provides in some people's minds.

[RJB]

Osoab, Thanks for the local insight. I've found posters here give a better view of local events than local reporters.

[osoab]

As if that'll reduce their financial deficit.

I think this will do nothing more than encourage the Illinois politicians to continue governmental expansion because of the false sense of financial security that this tax increase provides in some people's minds.


Your words ring true Apparition.

Thousands hired in Illinois ahead of new pension system (http://www.sj-r.com/local/x1334356420/Thousands-hired-in-Illinois-ahead-of-new-pension-system)


Posted Jan 16, 2011 @ 11:30 PM
Last update Jan 17, 2011 @ 12:14 AM
When it comes to pensions in Illinois, a day can mean all the difference in the world.

Thanks to the eight-month span between Gov. Pat Quinn’s approval of a pension reform bill last spring and its implementation Jan. 1, any public worker hired in Illinois as late as Dec. 31 was enrolled in a far more lucrative pension plan than those hired after that date.

A GateHouse News Service analysis of pension data has identified nearly 19,000 public workers at all levels of Illinois government hired in that span, from bus drivers to university presidents.

The employees’ 2010 hire date gives them a toehold in the richer — and more expensive, to the taxpayer — pension plan.

[osoab]

Osoab, Thanks for the local insight. I've found posters here give a better view of local events than local reporters.


Well, to understand ILL (if one truly can) you only need to look at the legislative leaders.

The speaker of the house (Madigan), the senate president (Cullerton), and the governor (Quinn) can ram anything down the throats of everyone else.

The only thing that can stop them is if it is legislation that needs a 2/3 support to pass.
This is how the proposed $1 a pack increase in cigarettes was defeated in the lame duck session.

I am looking at contingency plans now on where to go. I never thought that it would be the politicians that would force my hand into moving. Unfortunately, I will have to wait until 2012 before I can bolt.

[mick silver]

this is only the start ... we will all see this in a town or city near us all before there done . the ones with any money left will be rob by all means to pay for the ones who will not get up and try to help there selfs

[osoab]

Move along. Nothing to see here.

Quinn, former state rep. say job not traded for tax-hike vote (http://www.suntimes.com/3329780-417/gordon-quinn-tax-vote-state.html)


During her final days in office, former state Rep. Careen Gordon scored a lucrative state job after casting an important vote that helped pass Gov. Quinn’s controversial 67 percent income tax increase.

Gordon (D-Morris) and a spokeswoman for the governor said there wasn’t any deal to trade Gordon’s vote for the $85,886-a-year seat on the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.


Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said in a statement that he’s not buying Quinn’s claim that Gordon’s appointment came after the vote. “That’s like saying it was simply a coincidence that the governor vetoed McCormick Place reforms last year after getting a $75,000 donation from the Teamsters Union,” Brady said in the statement.

[osoab]

One of many I am afraid. Jimmy Johns hit 1 billion in sales a couple of years ago.

Jimmy John's founder contemplates moving headquarters out of Illinois (http://www.news-gazette.com/news/business/economy/2011-01-19/jimmy-johns-founder-contemplates-moving-headquarters-out-illinois.h)


Wed, 01/19/2011 - 8:30am | Don Dodson
CHAMPAIGN – The founder of Jimmy John's said he has applied for Florida residency and may recommend that his corporate headquarters move out-of-state as a result of the Illinois tax increases enacted last week.

Jimmy John Liautaud told The News-Gazette on Tuesday that he is angry about the moves, which boosted the individual income tax from 3 percent to 5 percent and the corporate income tax from 7.3 percent to 9.5 percent.

"All they do is stick it to us," he said, adding that the Legislature and governor showed "a clear lack of understanding."

"I could absorb this and adapt, but it doesn't feel good in my soul to make it happen," Liautaud said.

Jimmy John's, which has its corporate headquarters on Fox Drive in Champaign, has more than 1,000 sandwich shops nationwide, many of them franchise operations.

Champaign has been its corporate base, but Liautaud said it will not necessarily continue that way.

Liautaud said he has been contacted by "multiple pro-business states" that made him feel "wanted and important."

"I enjoy being courted and the process," he said.

Once he collects information on alternative sites, he will present it to the company's board of directors and ask the board to decide.

As for himself, "my family and I are out of here," he said.

Liautaud said he has rented a house in south Florida and his children started school there last week. He said he has applied for Florida residency and plans to commute to Champaign.

He said he doesn't know yet whether he will put his home on West Armory Street on the market.

Jimmy John's employs 100 at the corporate office in Champaign and has 190 other employees who work elsewhere but come to Champaign every four weeks, Liautaud said.

Some people may not realize how many travel to Champaign-Urbana as a result of Jimmy John's being here – many of them for training.

Liautaud said his business accounts for "350 motel nights a week in Champaign, 1,400 motel nights a month."

"They eat at Cheddars," get automotive service at Sullivan-Parkhill and "drink at Carlos (Nieto's) bars," he said.

Liautaud also lashed out at union protesters who demonstrated against a "low-cost" contractor his company is using to build a Jimmy John's in Urbana. That restaurant will provide 30 jobs, he said.

He said he's sick of being "pummeled."

"I'm not sophisticated enough, smart enough or politically correct enough to absorb it all," he said.

Jimmy John's offices occupy 23,000 square feet on Fox Drive, and Liautaud said he had considered buying a 20,000-square-foot building just north of those offices. Those plans went out the window with the tax increase, he said.

He said he also planned to hire 80 more people at the executive level.

With regard to the tax increase, Liautaud criticized the way the Legislature "snuck it through" and called the procedure "sneaky."

When asked whether Illinois could do anything now to change his mind, he said "the state could say they made a mistake" and "apologize."

Marcelyn Love, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, said she could not address the Jimmy John's situation specifically.

But she said the temporary increase in the corporate income tax "will help stabilize the budget, making Illinois more attractive to businesses."

"Through this plan, we're taking the necessary steps to strengthen the economy, attract new investment and put people to work," she said.

Liautaud would not say specifically what states had contacted with him about relocating, but expressed admiration for Indiana. He cited a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune placed by the city of Indianapolis, which invited Illinois companies to come and enjoy "a much more stable, affordable and pro-growth economic environment."

James North, president of Jimmy John's, echoed many of the same sentiments.

"I absolutely love it here," North said. "But when you do the math, it doesn't add up. Florida looks pretty nice right now."

Liautaud also said he "loves" Champaign. He said his mother and dad met here, and noted that his family has given the University of Illinois $5 million to establish the Liautaud Graduate School for Business in Chicago.

He added that he owns 3,400 acres of farmland in Champaign County and sponsors events at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Liautaud said building and operating a business like Jimmy John's is "not comfortable, not easy, not nice."

"We make money a dime at a time," he said.

He opened his first sandwich shop in Charleston in 1983 and opened his third shop, in Champaign, in 1987.

"I'm not a greedy American pig," Liautaud added. "I'm a hard-working, bread-baking, meat-slicing delivery guy who happens to be immensely successful."

[Book]

"I'm not a greedy American pig," Liautaud added. "I'm a hard-working, bread-baking, meat-slicing delivery guy who happens to be immensely successful."



http://www.myhometownnews.net/upload/images/1212123990.jpeg

Got "immensely successful" paying shit wages.

:oo-->

[osoab]

"I'm not a greedy American pig," Liautaud added. "I'm a hard-working, bread-baking, meat-slicing delivery guy who happens to be immensely successful."



http://www.myhometownnews.net/upload/images/1212123990.jpeg

Got "immensely successful" paying shit wages.

:oo-->


It's your choice of where you want to work currently. I don't think anyone pointed a weapon at anyone's head and forced them to work for Jimmy Johns.

Bring a better argument next time Book. :oo-->

[Book]

It's your choice of where you want to work currently. I don't think anyone pointed a weapon at anyone's head and forced them to work for Jimmy Johns.Bring a better argument next time Book.



http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3189/3119542564_0bf8da97b0.jpg

You tell 'em Kudlow.

:D

[Apparition]

It's your choice of where you want to work currently. I don't think anyone pointed a weapon at anyone's head and forced them to work for Jimmy Johns.

Bring a better argument next time Book. :oo-->

Exactly.

If the employees want higher wages then they should work more or gain the skills to find a job that pays more.

Most of the employees work low-skilled jobs there anyway considering that they work at a fast food restaurant for goodness sake.

[Book]

If the employees want higher wages then they should work more or gain the skills to find a job that pays more.



http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/ShbPwVivi8I/AAAAAAAAP1c/3SVdqRcNCTc/image_thumb%5B8%5D.png?imgmax=800

Bill and Warren must have worked a lot of "overtime" to each "earn" their FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS.

:oo-->

[Apparition]

If the employees want higher wages then they should work more or gain the skills to find a job that pays more.



http://lh3.ggpht.com/_v3zjJigoAPE/ShbPwVivi8I/AAAAAAAAP1c/3SVdqRcNCTc/image_thumb%5B8%5D.png?imgmax=800

Bill and Warren must have worked a lot of "overtime" to each "earn" their FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS.

:oo-->




They mostly had the knowledge and the skills needed to earn their money over the years so I don't have a problem with that.

If they earn it legitimately by offering a product/service that people desire I couldn't care less.

Some people legitimately earn their money quicker and more easily while it's not the same for others.

Life doesn't come easily for everyone but that is life, anyway.

Not everyone will be successful or as successful because they want to.

[Libertytree]

"I'm not a greedy American pig," Liautaud added. "I'm a hard-working, bread-baking, meat-slicing delivery guy who happens to be immensely successful."



http://www.myhometownnews.net/upload/images/1212123990.jpeg

Got "immensely successful" paying shit wages.

:oo-->


Do you work there?

[Horn]

Bill and Warren must have worked a lot of "overtime" to each "earn" their FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS.

:oo-->

Let's hope they live long enough to figure out the people can't be forced to eat software, or insurance policies.

[osoab]

The individuals helped not withstanding (I don't feel like touching that debate in this thread), how many people think they are independent owners/directors of businesses/charities actually understand that they made themselves beholden to the state?

Agencies hope tax hike will end risk of big cuts (http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_b1ae6716-237c-11e0-ba62-001cc4c03286.html)



Human services organizations owed money by the state figure that the tax increases approved late last week will reduce the risk of drastic cuts and help the state to pay its bills more quickly.

“The tax increase is to avoid draconian cuts,” said Alan Sender, chief operating officer for Chestnut Health Systems, the substance abuse treatment and research agency. “I don’t think any of us are expecting new dollars.”

“I’m hoping — with the tax increase — the state will have the money and the wherewithal to pay its bills on time,” said Rick Glass, chief executive officer of Marcfirst, which serves people with developmental disabilities.



“The state could not have balanced the budget with cuts only,” said Lisa Pieper of The Children’s Home + Aid Children’s Foundation.

“No one likes to pay more taxes,” Sender said. But, without a tax increase, Chestnut would have experienced a “catastrophic” cut in state funding of at least 40 percent, he estimated.



East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging — which supports community services for older adults in 13 counties — cut its staff from 18 to 13 and reduced funding to programs such as PATH’s money management program for older adults, Executive Director Mike O’Donnell said. That program continues with money from other sources and with volunteers.

But the agency is still owed hundreds of thousands of dollars by the state and hopes that the tax increase will be part of the solution to the state’s budget woes, O’Donnell said. Further cuts could be forthcoming.

“Don’t take any program for granted,”

O’Donnell warned.

The Baby Fold, the child and family welfare agency, cut its domestic infant adoption program and made other reductions, but still is owed more than $400,000 by the state, Executive Director Dale Strassheim said.

[osoab]

Deere to invest $100M in India market (http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110119/NEWS07/110119835/deere-to-invest-100m-in-india-market#axzz1BWjgkj1x)



January 19, 2011
(Reuters) —U.S. farm equipment maker Deere & Co. will spend $100 million to expand its capacity to produce tractors for the Indian market and for export, building a new factory and expanding an existing one.

The new factory, whose location is not yet decided, will make small tractors for both India and for export markets. Deere will expand a current tractor facility in Pune.

Deere said Wednesday that its India-made tractors are sold in 70 countries.

[osoab]

We are so screwed.

Post Revolution, Tunisia CDS Still About 100 bps Tighter Than Illinois (http://www.zerohedge.com/article/post-revolution-tunisia-cds-still-about-100-bps-tighter-illinois)


As China's president heads over to Barack's home town, we wonder if he is aware that according to the market, Chicago is in a state whose credit risk is about 100 basis points wider compared to a post-revolutionary Tunisia. Despite the country's recent presidential coup, and subsequent downgrade by Moodys to Baa2, the African nation's CDS, which spiked from 120 to 180 bps, is still just 100 basis points inside the CDS of Illinois. And this still assumes 80 cent recovery. We wonder how long before one or more Vallejo precedents reprice the entire CDS muni curve. Should the default recovery be dropped from 80 to, say, 20, it would get very interesting...

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/havenstein/Tunisia%20CDS_0.jpg

http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/havenstein/Illinois%20CDS_0.jpg

[osoab]

Well in the last week or so we had some "bright" spots in Illinois.

Evraz North America, parent company of Oregon Steel Mills, moving headquarters to Chicago (http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/01/evraz_parent_company_of_oregon.html)


Illinois laid on $3 million in incentives to sweeten the deal for Evraz, including tax credits spread over 10 years and a one-time training grant of $50,000. Illinois competed against offers from Colorado and Delaware, where the company also has mills. Evraz is expected to invest $9.7 million in Chicago over 10 years.

Governor Quinn Announces Leading Scrap Metal Recycling Company Will Move to Illinois (http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/latest-local/21280-governor-quinn-announces-leading-scrap-metal-recycling-company-will-move-to-illinois-.html)

-January 21, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn announced today that one of the Midwest’s leading scrap metal recyclers, Becker Iron & Metal, Inc., will relocate its headquarters from St. Louis, Missouri to Venice, Illinois. The company’s move will help create at least 42 permanent Illinois jobs and support another 198 construction jobs as part of an overall $4 million investment in Madison County.

“We are continuing to take the necessary steps to increase our competitiveness in the global economy, which is why more businesses are choosing to move to Illinois,” said Governor Quinn. “We are stabilizing our fiscal climate, investing in state-of-the-art transportation infrastructure and supporting emerging green technologies – and it’s giving us an edge over competing states.”

The $4 million construction project will be partially financed by a $928,400 grant administered through the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Freight Rail Program. The grant will help finance construction activities, including new rail track, radiation detection and lighting.


...But today, Doom occurred.

This just in… Appellate court strikes down capital bill, video poker, lottery privatization and lots, lots more (http://capitolfax.com/2011/01/26/this-just-in-appellate-court-strikes-down-capital-bill-video-poker-lottery-privatization-and-lots-lots-more/)


* 12:30 pm - An appellate court has struck down the state’s capital construction program and all of its funding sources, claiming the legislation violated the constitution’s “Single Subject Rule.” Read the opinion by clicking here. A lawyer friend summarizes…

The unanimous court held that Public Act 96-34 (Video Poker, Capital Spending Accountability Law, Capital Projects Fund, taxes on beverages, candy, grooming and hygiene products, privatizing the Lottery, U of I study on effects of study of Lottery on families, increase in truck fees, and liquor tax increase) violated the single subject rule of the Illinois Constitution.

Public Acts 96-35 (clarifying changes to Public Act 96-34 and changes to River Edge Redevelopment Zone Act, Vehicle Code rental car provisions, an urban weatherization program, Gaming Board peace officers provisions, and CDB provisions), Public Act 96-36 (trailer bill amending Public Act 96-34), and Public Act 96-37 (appropriations for Capitol Projects) all fall since they by their terms were contingent on Public Act 96-34.

Public Act 96-38 was also nullified. That was the tax hike on candy and some trailer language on the video poker bill.

* This has to be, without a doubt, the biggest appellate court ruling on Illinois policy in decades. Everything, and I mean everything has to be redone if the capital projects are to be saved.

Oy.

* 12:42 pm - So much for that new $5 billion capital construction bond the state is about to sell. There’s no longer a funding source and the program itself is now declared unconstitutional. The Lottery privatization deal was just finalized, but that’s now out the window as well, pending appeal.

This is just unreal, campers. It’s beyond huge.

* 1:40 pm - Sun-Times…

A state appeals court Wednesday struck down Illinois’ $31 billion capital construction program, asserting that the legislation that authorized it was unconstitutional. The ruling invalidates the revenue streams for the borrowing that has funded the construction program, meaning that video poker, privatization of the lottery and higher liquor taxes are now on hold. The case was brought by W. Rockwell Wirtz, owner of the Chicago Blackhawks, and his liquor distributorship, Wirtz Beverage Illinois. The court found that the legislation that was the basis for the construction program violated the state Constitution’s single-subject requirement.



* 1:56 pm - Fox Chicago…

A spokesman for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan estimated that the ruling eliminated at least 40 percent of the funding sources devoted to the state’s giant capital construction program.

[osoab]

My State presently owes its pension funds $208 BILLION, what about yours? (http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/fred-cederholm/pensions-a-new-crisis-is-about-to-hit-the-headlines)


Last week, I was forwarded an analysis that really set me on end. According to a report by the American Enterprise Institute, public pensions are under funded by more than $3 trillion nationwide. Illinois pensions alone are $208 BILLION UNDERFUNDED using realistic measures. The overall level of funding is 29% --- the worst in the entire nation. Illinois SERS pensions at 23% of funding is $36 BILLION in arrears, Illinois teachers pensions at 28% of funding is $98 BILLION in arrears, Illinois Universities pensions at 30% of funding is $35 BILLION in arrears, Chicago Teachers pensions at 43% of funding is S16 BILLION in arrears, and Illinois municipal pensions at 47% of funding is $24 BILLION in arrears. To get this money, total population and corporations of the state will have to be taxed. This will not occur without a fight --- so Illinois is looking for an “out” from these obligations and also what it owes schools, health care providers, and nursing homes. Be prepared to get stiffed!

AEI is a right wing think tank activist group, but I don't doubt the numbers.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/state-debt-clocks/state-of-illinois-debt-clock.html

Doesn't that just warm your heart? ::)

[osoab]

Rahm owes it all to a Civil War vet (http://capitolfax.com/2011/01/28/rahm-owes-it-all-to-a-civil-war-vet/)



Friday, Jan 28, 2011

* My Sun-Times column…

A month after returning home to Galesburg from service in the Civil War, an attorney named Arthur Smith decided to move to Tennessee.

Smith wasn’t sure if a Yankee could live down South, but he was stationed in Tennessee during the war and he liked it. Smith rented out his Galesburg house, stored some of his stuff with friends, packed up the rest and headed down the Mississippi River with his family.

Smith quickly discovered that the postwar South was just too hostile for people like him. He never bought a house there, refused to vote in a Tennessee election for fear of losing his Illinois citizenship and wouldn’t even sell his Illinois law books because he figured he could very well end up moving back home.

Six months later, he did just that. As soon as the Mississippi River became navigable, Smith moved his family back to Galesburg. Less than a year later, the Illinois governor appointed him to a judgeship.

Trouble was, state law required judges to reside in Illinois for five years before their appointment, so somebody filed a lawsuit claiming Smith didn’t meet the residency requirement.

Does any of this sound familiar? It should. The facts are eerily similar to the Rahm Emanuel saga. A guy rents out his house, leaves town, decides to move back home, takes a shot at political office — and somebody claims he doesn’t actually reside there.

And, just like with Emanuel, a lower court ruled that Smith wasn’t a resident and therefore couldn’t qualify for his job. But in 1867, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that it was clearly Smith’s intent to remain an Illinoisan. He didn’t sell his home, he rented it. He didn’t do anything in Tennessee to disturb his Illinois residency.

It doesn’t sound right to a lot of people today, and a dissenting Supreme Court justice way back then agreed, thundering that Smith moved out of Illinois and that should be all that mattered.

The “intent” standard established by the majority in that Supreme Court case has held sway ever since. Until, that is, Emanuel got booted off the ballot by the appellate court this week. The appeals court used tortuous reasoning and previous residency cases on voters — not candidates — to buttress its argument that Emanuel couldn’t run.

But the Illinois Supreme Court unanimously overturned that flawed appellate court decision Thursday in a blistering opinion that blasted the appeals court judges for overturning 150 years of precedent and replacing it with a standard that the judges didn’t bother to define.

The appeals court had said “reside in” means “actually live in,” but the justices didn’t specify how, exactly, that could be measured. Taken to a logical extreme, if congressmen or state legislators spent months living outside the district doing their jobs, does that mean they would not legally be residents of their districts? It’s ridiculous, of course. Obviously, they have no intent on living in Washington, D.C., or Springfield.

Maybe a case of obvious abandonment of a residency can help clear things up.

A few years ago, former Chicago Schools CEO Paul Vallas wanted to run for office in Illinois but was told he couldn’t. Unlike Judge Smith and Rahm Emanuel, Vallas sold his Chicago house when he moved to Pennsylvania. He registered to vote in Philadelphia and then he voted there. He made his intent crystal clear with those actions, so he couldn’t run for office in Illinois.

Smith and Emanuel, on the other hand, had no intention of ever becoming citizens of another state, and they clearly proved it. Case closed.

If Rahm’s elected mayor, he ought to name a street after Judge Smith.

- posted by Rich Miller

[osoab]

Top U.S. House Republican rejects federal guarantee for Ill. pensions (http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/3959464-418/top-u.s.-house-republican-rejects-federal-guarantee-for-ill.-pensions)


SPRINGFIELD — The No. 4 House Republican in Congress Tuesday shot down Gov. Quinn’s trial balloon of possibly seeking federal help to ease the state’s crushing $86 billion pension shortfall.

Quinn floated the idea in the fine print of his 2012 budget proposal last week, but U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) began laughing Tuesday when asked about the chances of a federal pension bailout for Illinois and other states with retirement systems that are financially underwater.

“There is no appetite in the House for a federal guarantee for a state pension obligation. None. It’s a non-starter,” said Roskam, the U.S. House’s chief deputy whip and highest-ranking Republican in Illinois’ congressional delegation.

“Given the types of choices Congress is under right now and the budget-cutting pressure that moved $100 billion in cuts, there’s no way this House will take on any more obligations, particularly bailing states out of decisions they’ve made,” the Wheaton Republican told the Sun-Times.

Quinn listed the potential of “seeking a federal guarantee of the debt” as one way Illinois could see “significant long-term improvements” in its five pension systems. Curtailing public employee retirement benefits, borrowing more and increasing annual state pension contributions were identified as other choices.

“Until one or more of these options is achieved, pension funding issues will persist,” Quinn’s budget document states.

After the idea of seeking federal help drew attention in the financial press, Quinn’s budget office backtracked on the possibility but did not completely rule it out.

“Notwithstanding any media reports to the contrary, the state of Illinois has no current plans to request a federal guarantee on any of its bonds or pension debt,” said Kelly Kraft, a spokeswoman for Quinn’s Office of Management and Budget.

“To date, we have not requested any guarantee,” she said in a prepared statement.

Kraft said the administration has not had any discussions with members of Illinois’ congressional delegation about the idea.

Quinn’s administration is about to sell $3.7 billion in bonds to cover this year’s contribution to its pension systems that oversee retirement benefits for more than a half million teachers, state and university workers, judges and lawmakers.

House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) raised the likelihood this spring of curtailing pension benefits for existing state workers, though Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) predicted such a move could be unconstitutional.

Asked how Quinn’s administration should tackle the pension problem, Roskam said any solution must come from Springfield, not Congress.

“They have to look the reality of these numbers in the eye and recognize they’ve got to deal with fundamental pension reform. I don’t know all of the types of things they’ve done in the past in terms of the state obligations, but obviously, they haven’t met the mark if they’re seriously contemplating seeking a federal guarantee,” Roskam said. “It tells you they haven’t done their work.”

[Book]

House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) raised the likelihood this spring of curtailing pension benefits for existing state workers, though Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) predicted such a move could be unconstitutional.

Whatsa constitution?

:oo-->

[mick silver]

so if you work there they take 66 of your pay . am i getting this right

[uncletonoose]

so if you work there they take 66 of your pay . am i getting this right


No, it raises the rate from 3% to 5%, thus a 66% increase.

[Cobalt]

“They have to look the reality of these numbers in the eye and recognize they’ve got to deal with fundamental pension reform. I don’t know all of the types of things they’ve done in the past in terms of the state obligations, but obviously, they haven’t met the mark if they’re seriously contemplating seeking a federal guarantee,” Roskam said. “It tells you they haven’t done their work.”


Ha Ha
Straight from the mouth of a US Representative

Go back to DC ya dumb fuk and see how much budget balancing is going on there, maybe you should lead by example