Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner News
Illinois used to have one competitive advantage over its neighbors: its flat tax. Now that's largely gone
One of the few positives in Illinois we’ve been able to cheer over the years has been the state’s flat income tax rate. For years, Illinois was a flat tax state surrounded largely by progressive tax states, including Iowa, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Missouri.
Pensions, salaries, pension: Illinoisans pay 2.5 times for their politicians
Taxpayers pay once for state politicians’ salaries and another 1.5 times for their bankrupt pension system. In 2017, taxpayers will contribute the equivalent of nearly $123,000 for each lawmaker just to keep the General Assembly Retirement System afloat.
Coming up short: What if Illinois’ pension funds miss their investment targets?
Illinois has less than 50 cents of every dollar it needs to pay for teacher pensions.
Five things to know about Illinois’ unsustainable municipal pension fund
Everyone in Illinois knows that government-run pension debt threatens the state’s fiscal solvency, with debt for state-run pensions totaling more than $100 billion.
Why won't Illinois lawmakers reform their own pensions?
The pension fund for Illinois lawmakers is the state’s most insolvent system. Taxpayers bail it out every year. If they didn’t, the General Assembly Retirement System, or GARS, would only have enough assets to pay retired politicians for another 2.5 years.