The following is a continuation of Dissecting Illinois’ Pension Problem Part IV: History of Neglect (The 1990s) Overview The State of Illinois’ growing underfunded liabilities was the folly of many and not subjected to a single action. It was the compounded effect of many various decisions made by different individuals over decades. Part IV in ourContinue reading “Dissecting Illinois’ Pension Problem Part IV: History of Neglect (The 2000s)”
Category Archives: Finance
Dissecting Illinois’ Pension Problem Part IV: History of Neglect (The 1990s)
The following is a continuation of Dissecting Illinois’ Pension Problem Part III: Understanding Tiers Overview The State of Illinois’ growing underfunded liabilities was the folly of many and not subjected to a single action. It was the compounded effect of many various decisions made by different individuals over decades. Part IV in our Illinois Pension seriesContinue reading “Dissecting Illinois’ Pension Problem Part IV: History of Neglect (The 1990s)”
Dissecting Illinois’ Pension Problem Part III: Understanding Tiers
The following is a continuation of Dissecting Illinois’ Public Pension Problem Part II: Modeling Pensions. Overview Public employees are separated into two tiers, depending on when they began employment, and each tier contains a different vesting structure for their pension. The two tiers are simply referred to as Tier I and Tier II. Tier I EmployeesContinue reading “Dissecting Illinois’ Pension Problem Part III: Understanding Tiers”
Dissecting Illinois’ Public Pension Problem Part II: Modeling Pensions
What are Pensions? Pensions are money owed to former public employees as severance to their public service and work. Recipients of these benefits in Illinois include teachers, police, firefighters, state employees, judges, and more. Recipients start collecting this benefit at retirement. How Pensions Work Both the pension recipient and Illinois taxpayers pay into a specificContinue reading “Dissecting Illinois’ Public Pension Problem Part II: Modeling Pensions”
Dissecting Illinois’ Public Pension Issue: Part I
The State of Illinois has accumulated roughly $137 billion in public pension debt at the end of 2019. This is money owed to state employees who have retired as a severance to their public service and work. The massive amount of debt is an issue because as the underfunded liabilities grow, it will continue toContinue reading “Dissecting Illinois’ Public Pension Issue: Part I”
Remember when Illinois Banned Branch Banking?
Topic: Finance Issue: Branch Banking in Illinois There was a period in Illinois history where banks could not freely establish branches at different locations, suppressing bank expansion and limiting consumers to only their local community bank to suffice financial needs. Illinois’ Constitution in 1870 prohibited branch banking unless the General Assembly voted by a three-fifthsContinue reading “Remember when Illinois Banned Branch Banking?”
House Bill 1438: Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act
The US has been slowly on the journey to legalizing recreational use of cannabis at a state level with Colorado and Washington being the first to pass such legislation in 2012. Since then, recreational cannabis has been legalized in a total of 10 states and the District of Columbia. Background On May 31st, 2019, theContinue reading “House Bill 1438: Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act”
The U.S. Census’ Impact on Federal Funding for Illinois and Municipalities
By: Ryley Bruun, Writer Topic: Finance Issue: The Financial Impact of the U.S. Census on Illinois Problem: Communities that have a low participation rate taking the U.S. Census will not receive as much financial aid from the federal government compared to communities with higher rates. This can create a vicious cycle where historically underinvested areasContinue reading “The U.S. Census’ Impact on Federal Funding for Illinois and Municipalities”
Illinois FY 2021 Budget
Revenue *P.A. 101-0008 Revenues refer to anticipated revenue effective January 1, 2021 from the adjustment of individual and corporate tax rates if SJRCA 1 is adopted by the people of Illinois.
Illinois’ Sales Tax Structure
The State’s Tax Reliance on Goods Overview The State of Illinois primarily taxes goods as opposed to services. Currently, the state taxes 17 services with 12 coming from public utilities. This narrow base is poor to adapting to changing in the economic climate because it becomes overly dependent on taxes from only a few services belonging toContinue reading “Illinois’ Sales Tax Structure”
Prairie State Policy 