View as PDF
Before recently defeated Gov. Pat Quinn (D) leaves office, taxpayers urge that he veto SB 3341, a bill that passed through the state legislature December 3 and will increase the property tax bills of McHenry County taxpayers. According to the president of Taxpayers United of America (TUA), increased property taxes amount to strong-arm robbery.
“This legislation is insidious because it permits property tax increases without a referendum,” said Jim Tobin, TUA president.
Senate Bill 3341, sponsored by McHenry County State Rep. Michael W. Tryon (R-66) and State Sen. Pamela J. Althoff (R-32), allows the McHenry County Conservation District to borrow money without a property tax increase referendum.
“Gov. Quinn is leaving office with Illinois in a financial fiasco,” said Tobin. “If Quinn vetoes SB 3341 before he leaves office, it would be the most decent thing he can do for taxpayers, that is, until he vacates his government job.”
This legislation would lead to higher property tax bills to repay the bonds. If taxpayers do not immediately voice their opposition to SB 3341, Gov. Quinn will sign the legislation into law, and taxpayers in McHenry County will see higher property taxes in 2015 and beyond.
Gov. Quinn can be contacted by phone or mail at his Springfield and Chicago offices, as well as by email, by following this link: https://www2.illinois.gov/gov/Pages/ContacttheGovernor.aspx
View as PDF
Chicago—Taxpayers United of America (TUA) did not endorse or support the government pension reform that was passed last year because it fell drastically short of what is needed to adequately reform Illinois’ government pension cabal. It is no surprise that judges ruled to protect the rights of pensioners at the expense of every taxpayer in the state, according to Rae Ann McNeilly, executive director of TUA.
“This is why judges get pensions. The fact that the judges’ pensions were suspiciously omitted from reforms means nothing. Judges certainly understand that if reforms are upheld in a court challenge, it establishes precedent for future modifications of the Judges’ Retirement System (JRS).”
“Judges should never have been added to the pension system in the first place. Doing so has automatically placed them in a conflict of interest in ruling on any pension changes. The recent ruling in the government union challenges to the reforms of the Public Act 98-0599 definitively illustrates that conflict.”
“Illinois is technically bankrupt, with government pensions at the heart of the financial turmoil, and yet this court ruling has tied the hands of every taxpayer. In other words, the state says, ‘we will take your money, your house and all of your property if we have to, in order to fund the lavish pensions of the specially protected government elite.’”
“Not only do the government employees enjoy higher than average private sector pay and benefits, nearly iron-clad job security, no accountability for quality of work or outcomes, and judicially protected gold-plated pensions, but their livelihood is prioritized before the people who fund them.”
“Simple math and basic economics dictates that the government pension crisis can’t be solved through taxation, yet here we are with a ruling that limits any possible solution for economic growth. Therein lies the problem.”
“At the very least, new government hires should be placed in a retirement savings account like a 401(k)-style plan. Every day new employees are added to the system, perpetuating the problem. We have reached the point of financial gridlock where tax revenues are being so heavily consumed by government employees who provided services in the past, no resources are available for the employees who would provide needed services today.”
“There is no longer any question that the current system of guaranteeing government employees’ absolute and indefinite financial security is unsustainable, yet the lunacy of forcing taxpayers who are subject to the financial risks inherent in an ever-fluctuating market to fund such an insolvent system continues.”
“The mere fact that there is a Constitutional provision that protects a specific class of people above and even at the expense of the taxpayers is suspect. We need to do whatever is necessary to protect all taxpayers.”
“As long as so many millions of dollars are at stake for judges, legislators, and policy makers, we can never expect fairness to the taxpayers. The very future of Illinois depends on it. If an amendment is necessary to correct the problem of existing employees’ pensions, then let’s get it done. Let’s put an end to this insanity once and for all.”
View as PDF
Champaign—Taxpayers United of America (TUA) today released the results of a new study of the pensioners of the Cities of Champaign and Decatur, Macon and Champaign County government schools, Richland Community College, Parkland Community College, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“Hundreds of retired local government retirees are getting multi-million dollar pensions,” stated Rae Ann McNeilly, executive director of TUA. “This is not what they are getting paid to provide any kind of service to taxpayers, but what they get paid to do absolutely nothing.”
“Taxpayers’ portion of the stunning pension payouts has increased by 427% since 1998 vs. 75% for the government employees over the same period, according to a report by Illinois Policy Institute. And if recent ‘reforms’ survive a court challenge, the taxpayers will be transferring even more of their wealth to the overpaid government retirees.”
“Not only is the taxpayers’ share of those lavish pensions disproportionate to the government employees who will benefit, but the average government lifer pension is higher than 68% of the working taxpayers’ full-time annual pay. Keep in mind that the average Social Security pension for taxpayers is only about $15,000 a year. This is the income inequality that we really need to be focused on.”
“Although ill-conceived from the beginning, government pensions were never supposed to make multi-millionaires out of retired ‘civil-servants.’ Government is robbing taxpayers blind, in many cases causing people to lose their own homes in order to fund the salaries and benefits of the government employees. As a general rule, about 80% of local taxes go to fund these government salaries and benefits.”
“It is past time to bring government pay and benefits in line with private sector compensation because simple math tells us that we can’t tax our way out of the financial debacle that the government employee defined benefit pension cartel has created.”
“Here’s what some of our local ‘civil servants’ are raking in from their taxpayer subsidized pensions: retired University of Illinois Urbana Champaign employee Craig Bazzani gets a lush annual pension of $281,767 that will accumulate to a stunning $9,431,462 over a normal lifetime. Retiring at the age of 55, Bazzani contributed only about 3.2% of his own money to his estimated lifetime payout.”
“Retiring from Mahomet Seymour CUSD 3 at only 54, John W. Alumbaugh collects a sweet $166,414 this year. He will realize an estimated $6,482,530 in lifetime payments having invested only 2.7% of his payroll to that huge payout.”
“Decatur government school district 61 retiree, Elmer B. McPherson will get $163,916 in pension payments this year – just about the same amount of his own money that he invested in his estimated lifetime payout of $5,784,519. Having retired at 56, his own pension contributions are only about 2.8% of those millions he will collect.”
View the complete list of pensions here:
- Champaign Municipal Firefighters
- Champaign Municipal
- Champaign County Government Teachers
- Richland Community College
- Macon County Government Teachers
- Decatur Municipal
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Parkland Community College
“These are shocking amounts for taxpayers to be on the hook. And while these represent the highest pensions, it does not diminish the fact that every local taxpayer pays about four times more toward the city government pensions than the very government employees who will collect.”
“Illinois’ government employee pensions are in dire trouble with no end in sight. Government employees, like the vast majority of taxpayers, should save for their own retirement. Taxpayers simply can’t afford to pay so many, so much, to do absolutely nothing and retirees can’t afford the inaction of Illinois lawmakers who are afraid to alienate the special-interest money that keeps them in office.”
“I have analyzed pensions of government employees in 19 states and have personally visited 17 of those states to disclose the government pension largesse across the country and these Champaign and Decatur pensions are some of the highest I have encountered. And everyone knows, or should know, that Illinois has the most friable pension systems in the entire country. As a direct result of the government pension crisis, Illinois also has the worst credit rating. Desperate politicians at every level are exacerbating the problems by raising taxes and forcing productive taxpayers, and the jobs they create, out of the state.”
“TUA supports complete government pension reform that would place all new hires into retirement savings accounts like 401(k)s, increasing existing employees’ contributions to their own pension, raising the retirement age to 67 for full benefits, and increasing retiree and employee contribution to their own healthcare to 50% of the premium.”
“If it takes a Constitutional Amendment to implement these changes, then let’s get it on the ballot at the next opportunity. It’s time the union bosses and government bureaucrats provide truthful options and education to the rank and file, of the crisis state of Illinois’ pension systems.”
“If they knew the truth, members would be the first in line to support pension reform. If they knew just how tenuous their own pensions are, they would be the cheerleaders of reform.”
*Lifetime estimated pension payout includes 3% compounded COLA and assumes life expectancy of 85 (IRS Form 590).
