Community Corner
There was an error in the math for the pension reform bill
A review of the pension overhaul bill signed into law in December reveals lawmakers overestimated the savings from the bill. But the review wasn't all bad news! Read on to find out more.
SAVINGS SHRINK Supporters of the pension reform bill that is now law said it would save $160 billion over 30 years. Now the retirement systems say that's more like $145 billion. But there may be a good news/bad news scenario here, supporters say. Yes, the pension debate continues long after pension reform. More here.
LABOR OF LOVE Think unions always prefer Democrats? Think again. Capitol Fax publisher Rich Miller explains how one prominent Republican lobbied hard for a union endorsement and why it mattered. Read it here.
HIT THE GAS Last week Kirk Dillard made a campaign issue out of Illinois' tax on gasoline. You probably won't be surprised that Illinois is on our Top 10 list of states with the highest gas taxes. See where we stand nationally in today's list.
SHOWTIME IN SPRINGFIELD Pat Quinn gives his State of the State Address Wednesday as the General Assembly returns to work. Think he'll say anything about reducing government bloat in the state with the most government taxing bodies in the nation? Andy Shaw sure hopes so.
WHY SO DOWN? Rahm Emanuel is not looking happy in Chicago Tribune cartoonist Scott Stantis' latest work. See why here.
HELPING HANDS We hear a lot about gridlock in Congress, but the Cook Political Report gives the Illinois' Republican House delegation mostly high marks for cooperation on the most important bipartisan bills of 2013. See Cook's chart of all U.S. House Republicans here. (Those Texans are not an aisle-crossing bunch.)
HEADLINES Here are the top news stories in Illinois today:
- 5. Opinion: Illinois’ private colleges are providing more bang for their buck. (Chicago Sun-Times)
4. Opinion: Illinois is still a long way from solving its fiscal problems. (Pantagraph)
3. The December cold snap halted job growth in Illinois, but unemployment in the state continued to fall according to preliminary data. (Chicago Tribune)
2. Illinois’ new pension law will save $15 billion less than first thought. (Chicago Tribune)
1. Illinois education officials are considering dropping the ACT from the ranks of taxpayer-paid state-mandated tests. (Chicago Tribune)
