Knox County Government Pensions are Scandalous

By on March 25, 2015   /   Illinois, Illinois Press, Latest, News Releases, Pension Reform, Press, Taxpayer Alert  

View as PDF Galesburg, IL – Taxpayers United of America (TUA) has released their most recent government pension study exposing individual pensions for Galesburg municipal, Knox County, Knox County government schools, and Carl Sandburg College retirees.
“It’s no ‘phony scandal’ that government pensions are failed and taking their toll on Knox County taxpayers,” stated TUA’s operations director, Jared Labell. “Across the 5 state pension funds, there are more than 11,054 government pensioners collecting six-figure pensions and over 78,526 pensioners collecting more than $50,000 where the per-capita income is slightly higher than $35,000 and the per capita government debt is $24,959.”
“Knox County taxpayers struggle to make ends meet with 6.0% unemployment and bank-owned homes on the rise, but are forced to pay for these outrageous pensions.”
“The Galesburg police and fire pension funds are in abysmal shape, each funded by only about 50%.  This is putting services in jeopardy as pensions for services rendered in the past are competing for tax dollars needed for current services.”
“It is time to protect the future of taxpayers who have been scammed by politicians and union thugs into going along with a system that creates and constitutionally protects a special class of government elite.”
“It’s also time for union leadership to have a frank discussion with the rank and file, educating them on the inevitable collapse of an unsustainable crony system designed to siphon money from taxpayers for the benefit of the few. The unions should use those dues forced from members to bail out the pension system rather than use those funds to elect political cronies who keep them in power.”
“Consider the annual pension of $146,646 being paid to retired government teacher, Thomas Schmidt from Carl Sandburg College. His estimated lifetime payout is $5.1 million! Retiring at the ripe old age of 58, his personal investment in that gold-plated payout was a mere $232,158, or 4.5%.”
“Then there is Ronald L. Cope, retired from Galesburg CUSD 205. He gets $126,403 in annual pension payments and because he retired at only 56, those payments with compounded annual cost of living adjustments will accumulate to $3.2 million! His personal investment was only about 4.4% or $139,649.”
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“The average Social Security ‘pension’ is only about $15,000 a year and taxpayers pay 15% of every penny they earn for that modest payout.”
“This government pension system is the single cause of Illinois’ critical financial situation and it is mathematically impossible to tax our way out of this situation.”
“The Illinois government has failed us; local governments have failed us. It is in everyone’s best interest to solve the pension problem before the system completely collapses. It is no longer a matter of ‘if’ it will collapse, but when.”
“Immediately place all new hires into 401(k) style retirement savings accounts, increase member contributions to their retirement fund, increase retirement age for full benefits, and increase member contributions to 50% of health care premiums. Anything short of these reforms will do nothing to permanently solve the problem. If it takes a Constitutional Amendment, then we need to get that on the ballot as soon as possible!”

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Taxpayers Oppose 7 Property Tax Increase Referenda April 7

By on March 24, 2015   /   Illinois, Illinois Press, Latest, News Releases, Pension Reform, Press  

View as PDF Chicago – Government bureaucrats in Broadview, Shorewood, Shiloh, and New Baden have placed referenda on the April 7, 2015 ballot for voters to approve Home Rule status for these villages. According to Taxpayers United of America (TUA), Home Rule means higher taxes.
“I like to call it ‘Home Ruin,’” said Jim Tobin, president of TUA. “Why would anyone want to give up their right to vote on property tax increases?”
“Home Rule always means higher taxes because it removes the cap limiting the amount that bureaucrats can increase property taxes. It gives bureaucrats a blank check and how many government bureaucrats would you trust with a blank check bearing your signature?”
“Home Rule also gives local government authority to tax nearly any product or service they want. What they don’t tell you is that such taxation drives consumers to neighboring communities where the taxes on products and services are lower.”
“And if high taxation isn’t enough, Home Rule is used extensively to add regulations, fees, and licensing that create even more red tape for business and entrepreneurs.”
“We are helping taxpayers in each of these communities by revealing the truth about home rule and how damaging it is. We are working with local activists and organizations to educate voters on Home Rule.”
“Bureaucrats in Westmont CUSD201 are asking taxpayers, for the third time, to give up more of their hard earned money ‘for the safety of the children.’ They are asking for a property tax increase of $19.7 million in bonds….again, which does not include paying the interest on the bonds. Hopefully taxpayers can educate the educators April 7 so they will understand the meaning of ‘NO’ this time around.”
“And of course, we urge taxpayers in Wilmette Park District to reject $14.5 million in bonds by voting no on two property tax increase referenda for wasteful spending on structures that will destroy the natural beauty of the waterfront parks. They hope to sell this by saying it doesn’t increase property taxes. While it may not be a new tax increase, it is an increase anytime you renew the debt, pay interest on the bonds, and keep property taxes from returning to their previous, lower level.”
You can download PDFs of our ‘Vote No’ flyers for printing and distribution below.

“Government needs to live within its means and cut spending when revenue declines. 80% of Home Rule and other local taxes go to pay government employees and their benefits. By adding new taxes, government bureaucrats ensure their own high pay and lavish pensions.”
“Illinois currently has 11,054 annual state pensions totaling more than $100,000 each and 78,526 government pensions of more than $50,000 apiece annually. It is mathematically impossible to raise enough taxes to sustain the defunct state pension system and yet every unit of government continues to try.”
“Illinois has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country and you have to wonder how many people could have stayed in their homes if the property taxes weren’t so high – the second highest property taxes in the country.”
“TUA has defeated 411 local tax increase referenda since 1977. We urge voters in these six communities to tell bureaucrats that they have had enough of government living beyond its means at the expense of taxpayers and to Vote No.”
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 7.

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Media Coverage of Midwest Government Pension Tension

By on March 11, 2015   /   Chicago, Illinois, Illinois Press, Items of Interest, Jared Labell, Latest, News Releases, Pension Reform, Press  


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Chicago – For nearly a decade, Taxpayers United of America (TUA) has played a critical role in publicizing the government pension crisis that has developed around the country and particularly in Illinois, where TUA was founded and currently based. With the shifting political climate in the state and the election of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner last November, who has stirred up the political class by taking a hardline approach to solving the government pension debacle without raising taxes, taxpayers are seeing more favorable news coverage opposing the lavish government pension system than ever before.
In the last week alone, TUA has received very favorable news coverage by WBBM Newsradio, Sauk Valley News, Michigan Capitol Confidential, and even the Chicago Tribune. Every bit of news coverage for TUA and the government pensions means that exponentially more taxpayers are becoming informed of the perilous financial situation that their politicians have put them in.
The gold-plated government pensions are a hot issue in Illinois and across the country, especially as legislators scramble to temporarily plug budget holes before they adjourn to their communities. These are the same bureaucrats who promise tax relief to their constituents while continuing to perpetuate a broken government pension system by balancing the books on the backs of taxpayers. TUA is here to set the record straight.
And that is why TUA’s work is so vitally important to taxpayers. Over the last decade, TUA has forced the Illinois government pension fiasco into the spotlight and for good reason; the current government pension system is unsustainable. With our persistent activism and outreach, TUA’s website is flooded daily by waves of taxpayers looking to become members, joining TUA in the fight for fiscal sanity in Illinois and to reclaim our economic future.

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