Medill Reports Chicago|As state’s finances sink, anti-tax group lets barbs, blame fly

By on March 3, 2016   /   Illinois, Illinois Press, Latest, Pension Reform  

Taxpayers United of America’s president, Jim Tobin, was quoted by Medill Reports Chicago about the latest data release of the top 200 Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System pensions..

Taxpayers United of America President Jim Tobin called Wednesday for Illinois taxpayers to oust Speaker of the House Michael Madigan in the upcoming March primary.
As lawmakers continue to grapple with the state’s pension system, which currently has more than $100 million in underfunded obligations, the TUA released its annual analysis of the Illinois’ Teachers’ Retirement System, tabulating the top 200 pension for former state teachers.
“He’s the biggest problem we have in this state,” Tobin said, referring to Madigan. “He’s the biggest single enemy of Illinois taxpayers.”
Madigan, along with the Democratic supermajority in Springfield, and Gov. Bruce Rauner, who Tobin supports, continue to spar over the state’s financial situation.
Madigan has represented the 22nd District on Chicago’s South Side for 45 years but faces an up-start primary challenger, Jason Gonzalez, 41, a Harvard-educated, first-time candidate. Although the TUA does support candidates, the organization has not endorsed Gonzalez.
Tobin said taxpayer anger has existed for sometime, but incumbents like Madigan have remained in office because no viable opposition has emerged. Tobin said he hopes Gonzalez can finally unseat Madigan.
“Boss Madigan has had the Illinois taxpayers in his death grip for far too long,” Tobin said. “There’s no accountability.”
Tobin has his own critics, too.
“Mr.Tobin’s opinions of TRS and other state government agencies have been consistently incorrect for at least 30 years,” David Urbanek, spokesman for the Teachers’ Retirement System wrote in an email. “His criticisms are false and without merit.”
TUA has compiled the annual list for the last decade. Tobin criticized teachers for collecting substantial pension payments and called for Illinois to adopt similar reforms as other states, including Arizona and Wisconsin.
The highest-compensated teacher on the 2016 list is Lawrence Wyllie, a 56-year veteran of Lincoln Way Community High School in New Lennox. Wyllie’s annual pension is about $312,000.
The average annual compensation for the top 10 teachers on the list is $289,900.
The Illinois primary is set for March 15, 2016.

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Teachers’ Retirement System Millionaires – It’s Not For the Children

By on March 2, 2016   /   Illinois, Latest, Taxpayer Alert  

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CHICAGO—Taxpayers United of America (TUA) today released the results of their updated analysis of Illinois’ Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS).
“In forty years of fighting government fraud, waste and abuse, nothing compares to TRS,” stated Jim Tobin, TUA president.
“This group of government employees uses our children as pawns in their demand for higher wages and benefits and yet there is no accountability, no measure of what makes a good teacher, and no way to get rid of the bad ones. All of the annual pensions on the TRS Top 200 are greater than $185,000.”
“Illinois overpays its teachers in the classroom and in retirement. 80% of all of those property tax and income tax increases go to fund government employee salaries and benefits. Clearly, it is not for the children,” added Tobin.

  • Total number of TRS pension beneficiaries is approximately 114,434
  • 8,507 collect pensions in excess of $100,000
  • 56,717 collect pensions in excess of $50,000
  • The average annual TRS pension is $52,752
  • The average amount that employees paid into their own pension fund is $74,470, or 4.1% of their estimated lifetime pension payout
  • The average estimated lifetime payout is $1.5 million*
  • The average age at retirement is 58
  • The average years of employment are 27
  • In fiscal year 2015, taxpayers were forced to pay $3,523,256,530 into the government pension fund
  • In fiscal year 2015, teachers’ paid $935,451,049 into their own government pension fund
  • The net return on investment for TRS was only 4%, or $1,770,549,533
  • As of the end of fiscal year 2015, TRS had a 42% funded ratio with a $62 billion unfunded liability

tobintrsj“These are not poor civil servants! The average Illinois government teacher salary is $69,538 – that average includes part-time teachers. Nearly half of the Top 200 TRS pensioners collect more in retirement than their final salary while employed.”
“Consistent with our findings of JRS and GARS, taxpayers have already paid more than their fair share of retirement benefits for these government teachers. Taxpayers made their payments on time and in good faith and yet these government employees expect us to pay again, and again.”
“Just a couple of examples of what these ‘poor civil servants’ are forced to live on in their retirement, that is if you can call it retirement at the age of 58, underscore the lavish, gold-plated government pension problem in Illinois,” said Tobin.

“Lawrence A. Wylie tops our list with a stunning $312,081 annual pension benefit! The accumulation of those payments will, over a normal lifetime, reach a cool $3.1 million. His contribution to that gold-plated pension was only $366,522.”
“John R. Harper tops the list for estimated lifetime payouts. Retiring at only 54, he could collect more than $11.1 million in taxpayer funded pension benefits. His current annual pension is a very comfortable $239,019.”
“Donald V. Strong tops our list for the highest total government pension collected to date at $3,633,776. His own payment into this extravagant government pension was a meagre $95,659.”

“We are hopeful that taxpayers will put Illinois Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan (D) and his cronies out of business. It is impossible to defend this system any longer. To expect taxpayers to bail-out the bloated promises of powerful politicians is just criminal,” charged Tobin.
“Boss Madigan has had the Illinois taxpayers in his death grip for far too long. Every taxpayer needs to vote in the upcoming General Primary on March 15, 2016 and vote out every incumbent who has played a part in taxpayer abuse that strips wealth from us to put in the pockets of the government retirees.” concluded Tobin.
*Lifetime estimated pension payout includes 3% compounded COLA and assumes life expectancy of 85 (IRS Form 590).
**Blank spaces in the data are intentional and due to government redactions or withheld data points in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.
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Government Continues to Ruin Higher Education

By on March 1, 2016   /   Illinois, Latest  

View As PDF Chicago—On February 19, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) vetoed Senate Bill 2043, legislation that would have appropriated $721 million for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) and community colleges programs. The Illinois General Assembly might attempt to override Rauner’s veto as early as today, but it is unclear if House Speaker Michael J. Madigan (D) has the votes necessary to do so.
Jim Tobin, founder and president of Taxpayers United of America (TUA), is urging the Illinois General Assembly to let the veto stand.
“Illinois cannot afford to keep throwing good money after bad without first addressing the systemic problems with our state and local governments’ spending of taxpayer dollars. The two political parties continue to undermine one another until one side can claim credit for securing their portion of the stolen loot, meanwhile, Illinois taxpayers lose either way when their taxes are raised to pay for it all,” said Tobin.
In his veto message, Rauner noted that, “the General Assembly has not put forward a plan to pay for these programs, whether through spending reductions, revenue, or cost-saving reforms. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget concluded that Senate Bill 2043 would add $721 million to the State’s budget deficit.”
Illinois has a bill backlog totaling more than $7 billion and is also facing quickly diminishing taxpayer dollars in the state’s financially dreary general fund.
“As a former educator and longtime tax fighter, there is no doubt that too much government intervention in education, particularly in higher education, has led to the unaffordability of college today. Subsidies have driven up tuition costs, expanded administrative bureaucracies, and incentivized schools to misallocate funds for decades,” said Tobin. “The solution is to get the government out of the business of education altogether.”
Rauner has suggested he would back other House and Senate bills that would fund higher education programs, as well as legislation that would authorize him and cabinet members to make other substantial cuts in state government necessary to avoid exacerbating the state’s deficit or contributing to Illinois’ already anemic financial situation.
“I urge members of the Illinois General Assembly to allow Gov. Rauner’s veto of SB 2043 to stand and consider other proposed legislation that would avoid worsening Illinois’ ongoing financial crisis. Taxpayers seek relief from their already significant tax burden, and if that means that legislators need to pressure the Khan of Madiganistan to consider passing other legislation, rather than overriding SB 2043, then it’s time for a rebellion in the Illinois General Assembly,” Tobin concluded.

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