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CHICAGO–Taxpayers United of America (TUA) filed an appeal to Judge Rita M. Novak’s dismissal with prejudice in its suit to repeal the 2012 toll tax increase of 87%.
“Attorney General Lisa Madigan is doing her best to sustain the toll tax increase that is tantamount to highway robbery,” stated Jim Tobin, president of TUA.
“The Illinois toll tax is nothing more than a cash machine that steals money from motorists to fund outrageous salaries for its overstaffed administrative authority. They reach right into your wallet and remove cash every few miles you drive.”
“The law is clear, stated Tobin. “Tollways were supposed to be freeways as soon as the original bonds were paid, and yet Lisa Madigan won’t do her job by upholding the very statutes by which she and the rest of the state are bound.”
“With an attorney general that works for her cronies rather than the people who elected her, there is no oversight, and the Chicago Machine continues to do what it wants, regardless of the laws.”
“TUA will see this suit through the Supreme Court if necessary. Illinoisans are fed up with the attitude of Madigan and her cronies, that we are an endless source of fodder to feed their insatiable hunger for other peoples’ money,” said Tobin.
TUA’s notice of appeal was filed in the Appellate Court on Thursday, August 2, 2012. TUA will make a request for oral arguments.
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Last week, Taxpayers United of America (TUA) released the top pension amounts for Arizona government employees. TUA President Jim Tobin held press conferences in Phoenix and Tucson.
TUA received the following great press coverage:
- Inside Tucson Business | Group says city employees due millions in pension payouts
- KGUN-TV 9 | Big government pensions brought into question [VIDEO]
- NewsTalk 550 KFYI | Watchdog Group: More Money Going Toward Government Pensions
Of particular note was the story from KGUN-TV 9. To see video of the story, click on the image below:
Additional press coverage from the Goldwater Institute and AZ-TV7 is expected in the future.
Arizona is the 16th state on TUA’s 50-state-tour focused on the number one budgetary problem in the US: government pension funding. TUA will be revealing more states’ pension amounts across the nation, including those of Colorado later this month.
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Findings from TUA’s pension project on Tucson, Arizona, are featured in this article from Inside Tucson Business.
A taxpayer watchdog group in Illinois has released a study saying Tucson government retirees could receive millions of dollars in lifetime pension payouts.
Taxpayers United of America, a libertarian leaning but politically non-affiliated advocacy group, put together an analysis of the city’s highest-paid pensioners and their estimated lifetime retirement payouts.
According to the group’s analysis, the retirees’ annual pensions range from $113,979 to $67,355. All told, the retirees receive $3.9 million per year in pension payments.
“These people are being paid an astronomical amount of money for 30 to 40 years to do absolutely nothing,” said Jim Tobin, founder and president of Taxpayers United of America.
Tobin said the group advocates having all new government hires on 401(k) and Social Security instead of the traditional publically funded pension plans that many government employees are on.
The group also advocates for government employees to pay for 50 percent of their health premiums.
“They defend pensions by saying they deserve it, but it doesn’t happen in the private sector anymore,” Tobin said.
According to the group’s calculations, many of the city retirees will earn as much as $3.4 million in pension payments. They base the figure on a retirement age of 55 and assume the pension payments will extend for 30 years.
City employees are only eligible for early retirement at age 55 if they have at least 20 years service.
The city’s Tucson Supplemental Retirement System Pension Fund has a budget for the current fiscal year of $68.1 million.
According to a 2011 guide to the pension fund, two-thirds of the pre-investment proceeds funding comes from city contributions. Employee contributions make up the remainder.
City employees are required to contribute at five percent of their gross wages.
Tobin called pension systems “immoral” and said that they were growing increasingly unsustainable.
“That’s the worst part about it,” he said. “We’re forced to pay their million-dollar pensions.”
Copies of the reports are online at www.taxpayersunitedofamerica.org.
A taxpayer watchdog group in Illinois has released a study saying Tucson government retirees could receive millions of dollars in lifetime pension payouts.Taxpayers United of America, a libertarian leaning but politically non-affiliated advocacy group, put together an analysis of the city’s highest-paid pensioners and their estimated lifetime retirement payouts.
According to the group’s analysis, the retirees’ annual pensions range from $113,979 to $67,355. All told, the retirees receive $3.9 million per year in pension payments.
“These people are being paid an astronomical amount of money for 30 to 40 years to do absolutely nothing,” said Jim Tobin, founder and president of Taxpayers United of America.
Tobin said the group advocates having all new government hires on 401(k) and Social Security instead of the traditional publically funded pension plans that many government employees are on.
The group also advocates for government employees to pay for 50 percent of their health premiums.
“They defend pensions by saying they deserve it, but it doesn’t happen in the private sector anymore,” Tobin said.
According to the group’s calculations, many of the city retirees will earn as much as $3.4 million in pension payments. They base the figure on a retirement age of 55 and assume the pension payments will extend for 30 years.
City employees are only eligible for early retirement at age 55 if they have at least 20 years service.
The city’s Tucson Supplemental Retirement System Pension Fund has a budget for the current fiscal year of $68.1 million.
According to a 2011 guide to the pension fund, two-thirds of the pre-investment proceeds funding comes from city contributions. Employee contributions make up the remainder.
City employees are required to contribute at five percent of their gross wages.
Tobin called pension systems “immoral” and said that they were growing increasingly unsustainable.
“That’s the worst part about it,” he said. “We’re forced to pay their million-dollar pensions.”
Copies of the reports are online at www.taxpayersunitedofamerica.org.
