WCMY|Watchdog group lists pension payouts to former lawmakers

By on February 18, 2016   /   Illinois Press, Latest, Pension Reform, Press  

TUA president and founder, Jim Tobin, was quoted by WCMY radio , about the recent Illinois General Assembly Retirees’ pension release.

Chicago — Taxpayers United of America says the Illinois legislature’s generous pensions have a lot do with why the state is broke. The organization announced Tuesday, its analysis of pension contributions and payouts shows the average former lawmaker has paid in less than $53,000 but will get about $1.3 million back in retirement. The organization says the General Assembly system is not about poor civil servants and fairness.
Among the local examples on the group’s list:

  • Former St. Rep. Peg Breslin who later served as an appellate court judge paid in $60,000 and gets almost twice that every year for a pension. She has received $1.2 million so far.
  • Former St. Rep. Pat Welch paid in $129,000 and has been paid $810,000 so far on his way to a projected $2.8 million.
  • Former St. Rep. Tom Walsh, now a LaSalle County Board member put in $91,000 and has received nearly $1 million so far.
  • Dennis Hastert, who went on to serve in the U.S. House including a period as the House Speaker, paid in just $19,000 to get $28,000 per year and $413,000 so far.
  • Former St. Sen. Gary Dahl paid in just under $50,000 and has received $115,000 so far.

Excerpted data from TUA’s list released Tuesday.

Illinois General Assembly retirees’ pensions as of January 27, 2016
reported by Taxpayers United of America
Projections assume life expectancy of 85 and 3% cost of living adjustment compounded annually
Name Current Annual Pension Member Contributions to Pension Fund Age at Retirement Total Pension Collected to Date Estimated Lifetime Pension Payout Employee Contribution % of Estimated Lifetime Payout
Peg M. Breslin  $ 112,754  $  60,556 56  $ 1,220,719.79  $ 3,317,816 1.8%
Patrick D. Welch  $  85,533  $ 129,138 56  $  810,456.80  $ 2,813,172 4.6%
Tom P. Walsh  $  59,099  $  91,139 55  $  994,563.35  $ 1,447,408 6.3%
J. Dennis Hastert  $  28,026  $  19,806 55  $  413,518.22  $  772,468 2.6%
Gary G. Dahl  $  24,465  $  49,965 70  $  115,274.13  $  363,819 13.7%

 

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IL Gov. Rauner Strikes at the Root of Evil in Second Budget Address

By on February 17, 2016   /   Illinois, Latest, Pension Reform, Taxpayer Alert  

View as PDF  Chicago—Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner delivered his second budget address before the General Assembly today, giving the first-term Republican another prominent opportunity to outline his plans for resolving Illinois’ protracted budget impasse by implementing structural reforms to the state government.
Taxpayers United of America’s (TUA) director of operations, Jared Labell, said that “Rauner is correctly imploring the Illinois General Assembly to immediately pass a balanced budget for the good of all Illinois residents and taxpayers.”
“Gov. Rauner’s address lacked the flowery campaign rhetoric from just one year ago, due in large part to the severity of the financial catastrophe the state is currently facing, and after decades of predictable governmental mismanagement. Rauner is absolutely right in his assessment that the only fiscally sound path forward for Illinois is for the legislature to pass economic and governmental reforms, while negotiating spending reductions and revenue concerns,” said Labell.
“Rauner must also be praised for standing firm and allowing the Illinois state income tax to fall by twenty-five percent when he first took office in January 2015, sunsetting a portion of the 2011 sixty-seven percent income tax hike imposed by former governor – and incessant political hack – Pat Quinn (D),” said Labell. “The state income tax is an economically crippling juggernaut and we are glad to hear that Rauner is not considering hiking it now or supporting a new state income tax on retirement income at this time.”
“I won’t support new revenue unless we have major structural reforms to grow more jobs and get more value for taxpayers. I’m insisting that we attack the root causes of our dismal economic performance,” Rauner remarked early in his budget address. He explained further, “Those are the dynamics.”
“That leaves us with only two choices: either you give the executive branch the authority to cut spending to live within our revenues. Or, we agree – together – on economic and governmental reforms, to accompany a negotiated balance of spending reductions and revenue that ensures that Illinois can be both compassionate and competitive. You choose. But please, choose now,” added Rauner.
“Attacking the root of Illinois’ atrocious economic reality is right on target. Taxpayers United of America will provide further analysis of the proposed budget, and the certain ongoing battle in the Illinois General Assembly, in the coming days and weeks,” said Labell. “Rauner makes a point that is reminiscent of a passage from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, which taxpayers would be wise to emulate. ‘There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.’”
“It is our duty, as long as we must toil under this government, to stand up for our lives, liberty, and property, ensuring that the government does not grow to be destructive of those ends. This is a start, but the fight is far from over,” concluded Labell.
 

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Illinois General Assembly: A Fish Rots From the Head Down

By on February 16, 2016   /   Illinois, Latest, Pension Reform  

View as PDF

CHICAGO—Taxpayers United of America (TUA) today released the results of their updated analysis of Illinois’ General Assembly Retirement System (GARS).

“For more than four decades, Madigan and his ilk have enshrined the theft of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars in an unsustainable government pension system at the expense of everyone else in Illinois. This is not a retirement system or a safety net for civil servants. This is theft, protected by government edicts and perpetuated by the immoral and unethical tax thieves that shuffle through the revolving doors in Springfield,” said Jim Tobin, founder and President of TUA.

“If Boss Madigan cared one bit about his constituents, we would have had pension reform decades ago, not to mention a current state budget, and then perhaps we wouldn’t have a pension crisis at all.”

“Let’s be clear about what this pension cabal is and what it is not. Six-figure government retiree pensions are not ‘for the children.’ This system isn’t about the ‘poor civil servants,’ and it certainly isn’t about fairness. The government pension Ponzi scheme is about the reelection of powerful legislators, the expansion of their voter base, and the money that pours in from donations,” said Tobin. “Just a quick look at some statistics from the GARS pension data analysis will shock Illinois residents and taxpayers.”

“For 2019 and 2020, two GARS pensions exceed $200,000. From 2019 to 2020, the number of pensions exceeding $100,000 has gone from 62 to 71, and the number exceeding $50,000 has gone from 218 to 221. The highest annual pension, $265,428, goes to retired legislator Arthur L. Berman (D), the author of the failed Berman Tax Increase Amendment, which we helped defeat years ago. Berman’s total pension paid to date is $3,670,815.”

“A central figure responsible for much of the pension crisis is former governor James R. Thompson (R), one of the worst tax-raisers in Illinois history. Thompson currently receives an annual pension of $165,987. He has received a total pension to date of $3,219,842. His estimated lifetime pension payout is $3,385,829.”

“Former governor, Patrick J. Quinn Jr. (D), the so-called “reform” governor, currently receives an annual pension of $149,882. He has received a total pension to date of $694,733. His estimated lifetime pension payout is $3,255,658.”

“Former legislator and governor, James R. Edgar (R), receives a current annual pension of $175,952. He has received a total pension to date of $2,502,093, and his estimated lifetime pension payout is $4,755,649.”

“Edgar signed into law Senate Bill 3 in 1998, the biggest government pension increase in the history of Illinois. SB3 gave retired government teachers 75% of their salary at retirement, with annual compounded increases of 3 percent. SB3 will cost taxpayers $4.5 billion in 2020, which is 12% of the Illinois state budget!”

“John Kass of the Chicago Tribune often refers to Illinois’ Speaker of the House as the Khan of Madiganistan, and for good reason. Madigan conducts himself like a warlord and has done so for decades. If he had an ethical bone in his body, he never would have supported the Constitutional Amendment that launched the era of runaway government pensions and began the state’s financial downward spiral. Even after that woeful Constitutional Convention in 1970, the Khan of Madiganistan has had countless opportunities while in his leadership role as Speaker of the house and as a legislator for the past 45 years to limit the perks given to state retirees, much less reform the system that is driving taxpayers from the state like refugees seeking a fresh start.”

“It is criminal that our legislature, under Madigan’s leadership, allows this to continue,” said Tobin. “Part-time legislator pensions shouldn’t be as lavish as our data shows, but unfortunately for taxpayers, this is the financial trouble we are facing.”

Click here to see the top 200 list of GARS pensioners

“It is plain to see the conflict of interest in having legislators, who are supposed to vote on our behalf, benefit from the very system that enriches them and impoverishes the rest of Illinois. There are a handful of legislators in the current General Assembly with some moral fiber who have declined to participate in the pension system, and we applaud their integrity, but that short list does not include Boss Madigan, the Khan of Madiganistan.”

“Are you listening, Speaker Madigan? Where is the government pension reform? Where do your loyalties lie?” Tobin challenged, “Before the Illinois General Assembly considers even discussing a new income tax on retirement benefits or raising the state income tax, the state’s political elite better be aware that residents won’t stand for it, and Taxpayers United of America will lead the charge against the continued pillaging of taxpayers.”

*Lifetime estimated pension payout includes 3% compounded COLA and assumes life expectancy of 85 (IRS Form 590).Save

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