Turns out, you can’t just blame state legislators for skipping pension payments: * I asked the Senate Republicans for the list of proponents and opponents of the bill which allowed the state to skip pension payments. Here it is… SB 27 Proponnents [sic]: Rich Frankenfeld, IEA “testimony if necessary” Derek Blaida, CPS Steve Preckwinkle, IFT…
Category: State Watch
Dixon Redux from Yet Another DeKalb Point of View
The appearance of “Dixon Embezzlement Serves as ‘Case Study’ on Oversight Practices” over the weekend gives me another shot at commenting on this story (now that I am out of the hospital, hopefully for a good long time). Thanks, Rockford Register Star! First, let’s take care of the error in the story.
The Case for a Graduated Income Tax in Illinois
The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability just released a report called “The Case for Creating a Graduated Income Tax in Illinois” (PDF). Changing from a flat tax to a graduated state income tax structure would take an amendment to the Illinois Constitution. Now would be a good time to ask state representatives/candidates if they…
New Bill Would Require Local Governments in Illinois to Place More Documents Online
Illinois Sen. Dan Duffy has filed this month SB3392, a bill that would require local governments with websites to post much more than many currently do. New requirements under the proposed legislation include putting online information regarding employee compensation, bids and contracts, which are documents typically sought under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).…
Village of Alorton, a Federal Investigation…and TIF
Alorton is an Illinois village near East St. Louis of about 3,000 people, a median household income that is roughly the same as DeKalb’s per capita income and a median home value of $47,000. Its government is being investigated by the feds for “systemic corruption.” Some village officials have been indicted. The mayor hasn’t been…
Who & What Sparked the Sparland Investigation
In “Sparland Officials Resign Amid Investigations, Controversy” we learned that most of the officials of the Village of Sparland resigned in December and that it had to do with investigations into possible Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act violations. But we were missing something. [Resident Margaret] Murry asked for records that included meeting…
Municipal Electrical Aggregation & You
An organization I belong to has hundreds of members. During a recent general membership meeting, one of them stood up and pitched the idea that the group should be selling his brand of electricity to the rest of us as a fundraiser. The board of directors asked him to confirm whether his is a multi-level…
Discussion of Unsustainable State Pensions
Prairie State Blue: The Problem with Pensions: Defined benefit plans are not inherently unsustainable. They made sense and were solvent when salaries were lower, payout levels were lower, employees retired later and died earlier. With higher salaries and especially stepped-up pay schedules, earlier retirements, increased longevity, and payouts of up to 75% or higher on…
Sparland Officials Resign Amid Investigations, Controversy
The (Peoria) Journal-Star reports that five elected officials of the central Illinois community of Sparland have resigned this month. The departing officials are Mayor Linda Medearis, Village Clerk Susan Persinger, Treasurer Margo Danger-Smith, and trustees Louis Lenz and Ralph McCasky. All have recently submitted notarized letters of resignation. […] The resignations come in the wake…
Thoughts on Property and Sales Taxes in DeKalb, and Where We Go from Here
The City of DeKalb is close to setting its property tax levy for the year. It is requesting the same amount as last year. I read in the paper that 2nd Ward Alderman Tom Teresinski is saying we will pay the same amount in property taxes as last year because even though the rate will…