Press

It’s a Spending Problem in Rock Island County

By on May 6, 2015   /   Illinois, Illinois Press, Latest, Pension Reform, Press  

View as PDF Rock Island, IL – Taxpayers United of America (TUA) has released its most recent government pension study exposing individual pensions for Rock Island municipal, Moline Municipal, East Moline Municipal, Rock Island County, Rock Island County government schools, and Black Hawk College.
“These government pensions explain why bureaucrats in Rock Island County keep trying to pass a new sales tax,” stated TUA’s director of operations, Jared Labell.
“There are about 930 Rock Island County government teachers collecting pensions of at least $50,000 annually. The median household income across the county is only $48,702 and the poverty rate is 13.3%.”
“Across 5 state pension funds, there are more than 12,154 government pensioners collecting six-figure pensions and over 85,893 pensioners collecting more than $50,000 where the state debt per capita is $24,959.”
“On average, these government pensioners contribute only about 5.5% to their own retirement payout. Taxpayers are forced to contribute $4 for every $1 that the government employees pay toward their own retirement. In the private sector, employees pay 15% of every dollar they earn into Social Security for an average pension of only $15,000!”
“These government bureaucrats need to get the message that taxpayers have had enough and it’s time to cut spending. Three times in the last six years Rock Island County has tried to pass a 1% sales tax and three times the voters have defeated this destructive new tax.”
The Rock Island Police pension fund is only funded at about 38.8%. A healthy funding level is at least 85%.  In 2003, 18% of Moline’s property tax levy went to the police and fire pensions, in 2014, it was about 47%, according to Kathy Carr, the city’s finance director.
“Taxpayers are on the hook for every penny of the shortfall in pension funding.  Forcing taxpayers to pay such a heavy portion of someone else’s retirement is criminal. ”
“It is time to protect the future of taxpayers who have been scammed by politicians and government 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.”
“Take a look at Calvin D. Lee who retired from Moline USD 40. He gets $197,826 in annual pension payments. Retiring at only 58, his taxpayer funded pension payout will accumulate to more than $7.2 million! And his personal investment in that payout? A mere 5.4%.”
“Then there is Michael T. Huff, retired from Rock Island County government. He gets $97,291 in annual pension payments and because he retired at only 54, those payments with compounded annual cost of living adjustments will accumulate to $4.1 million! His personal investment was only about 2.3% or $94,478, less than his current annual pension.”
The complete list of the following can be at taxpayersunited.org:

 
“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. 80% of local taxes go to fund government employee pay, pensions, and benefits.”
“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.”
“Our solution is to 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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Chicago Sun-Times | Counterpoint: Abolish taxpayer funded financial aid altogether

By on May 4, 2015   /   Illinois, Illinois Press, Items of Interest, Latest, Press, Taxpayer Alert  
A bill in the Illinois House would expand the applicant list for financial aid to include undocumented students at the University of Illinois and the state's other public universities. Photo by David Mercer, AP.

A bill in the Illinois House would expand the applicant list for financial aid to include undocumented students at the University of Illinois and the state’s other public universities. Photo by David Mercer, AP.

The Illinois General Assembly is considering a bill that would expand the state’s higher education financial-aid considerations at public universities to include students who are undocumented but meet requirements for in-state tuition. The students would be eligible for funds administered by the state, state agencies and the universities.

First, it is immoral to force taxpayers, many of whom can’t afford college for themselves or their children, to pay for college for others — citizens or not. I urge the Legislature to consider abolishing a financial-aid system that causes more problems than it solves.

OPINION

Second, Illinois is in dire financial straits. Financial-aid programs would be a great place to start cutting. Eliminate them in their entirety.
Third, government tuition assistance simply drives up the costs of college. Scholarships and grants for higher education should remain the function of the private sector. Companies experiencing a shortage of skills have shirked their responsibility for their own candidate pool by looking to government solutions. We would all be better served if companies offered human capital contracts. Such contracts bind the employee to work for a certain number of years, effectively repaying a loan.
Fourth, government money, both federal and state, has created an education bubble.
In my experience with for-profit institutions, I found that many engage in predatory recruiting practices, marketing to those least capable of success in a collegiate role. Their business model is to recruit anyone to whom they can sell the dream of changing their life. And they are effective at selling the dream, regardless of how suited the student is to the program or college at all. But that doesn’t matter because in their business model, they are profitable after only a few terms. While the student might fail miserably, incur insurmountable debt without attaining a greater capacity to repay the debt and become convinced that he or she is indeed a failure with no way out of their plight, the schools have boosted their profit and that’s all that matters to the institutions.
When it comes to assisting the undocumented, let’s reform our immigration policies to meet the needs of the millions who choose to live and thrive in this country while keeping out those who want to harm us.
Rae Ann McNeilly is executive director of Taxpayers United of America, which is based in Chicago.

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The Herald News | Pension issues highlighted in Taxpayers United report

By on April 20, 2015   /   Illinois, Illinois Press, Latest, News Releases, Pension Reform, Press  

Taxpayers United of America’s operations director, Jared Labell, was quoted by The Herald-News in an article about Taxpayers United of America’s recent pension release for both Will County and Joliet.

TDHArtThe two top police officials in Elwood also get two of the highest pensions from the Joliet Police Department, according to a report last week from Taxpayers United of America.

 “Hard-earned money,” Elwood Police Chief Fred Hayes said when asked about his $120,000-plus annual pension from his 31 years with Joliet, where he retired in 2011.
Both Hayes and Elwood Commander Pat Kerr retired from Joliet to take jobs as the No. 1 and 2 officers in the Elwood Police Department. Kerr’s pension also tops $120,000, according to Taxpayers United.
“I think in today’s economic climate, regardless of what field they’re in, many retirees from one company go to work for another company,” Hayes said, noting that he knows educators in the public sector and engineers in the private sector who have done the same thing.
A look at the list of pensions compiled by Taxpayers United shows some other retirees working elsewhere.
Steve Engledow, chief of the New Lenox Township Fire Department, is a retired deputy chief from Joliet with an annual pension of $116,000, according to Taxpayers United.
The second-highest government pension in Will County is the $239,000 paid to John Harper, who retired as superintendent of Plainfield School District 202 in 2014 and became principal at Providence Catholic High School.
Jared Labell, director of operations for Chicago-based Taxpayers United, agreed that private sector employees also retire with a pension only to make more money working elsewhere.
But Labell said private businesses are harder pressed to put pension plans in line with revenues.
“At the very least, that has to be determined from the business perspective that if we’re giving that percentage to our employees, we also have to stay afloat as a business,” Labell said.
Taxpayers United has been on a pension crusade for months, spotlighting government pension benefits for state employees and in counties across Illinois. The release of Will County numbers was its latest report aimed at drawing attention to the size of government pensions.
Labell said Taxpayers United does not want to change what retirees are getting. But it does want to see changes in what new employees get and even what current employees put into their pensions.
“We understand that people who decided to be police officers and teachers went in with expectations,” he said.
But Labell said he hears from young police officers and teachers worried retirement money won’t be there because of government pension problems.
Hayes, who also is president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, said he, too, hears that concern from young police officers.
“They’re asking if these funds are sustainable and if they will be available in the future,” Hayes said. “It is important that we make some changes so the system is sustainable.”
One of the top pensioners at Joliet Junior College is Andy Mihelich, a former administrator who gets $138,000 a year. Mihelich is retired, but active. He is chairman of the Joliet Junior College Board of Trustees and just ran an unsuccessful bid to become mayor of Joliet.
Mihelich said he has been prepared for his pension to be capped.
“I thought there would be pension reform in Illinois,” he said. “I’ve been waiting, but no one in Springfield seems to want to do anything.”
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DISCLAIMER

Taxpayers United Of America: (TUA). is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(4) taxpayer advocacy group. Founded June 27, 1976 in Chicago, Illinois by activist and economist Jim Tobin, TUA works on behalf of taxpayers to reduce local, state, and federal taxes. In the past forty years, TUA has saved taxpayers more than $200 billion n taxes and has become one of the largest taxpayer organizations in America. Check All posts. s.

ADDRESS

Chicago, IL 60606 205 W. Randolph Street, Suite 1305
Phone: (312) 427-5128
Fax: (312) 427-5139
Website: https://www.taxpayersunitedofamerica.org
Email: info@taxpayersunited.org

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