Gay Marriage. Assault Rifle Ban. Pension Reform. All On The Table For Ill....
The Illinois Senate returns to the Capitol on Wednesday to begin a weeklong legislative session that could take up pension reform, legalizing gay marriage and banning assault rifles. The 97th General...
View ArticleIll. Pension Negotiations Continue
Negotiations for a complete overhaul of Illinois' underfunded pension systems continue. But the president of the state Senate is again pushing a measure his chamber approved months ago. Governor Pat...
View ArticleFate Of Ill. Pension Reform Up In The Air
Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn has said repeatedly his top priority is dealing with the state’s pensions - the worst- funded in the country. He’s held countless press conferences and made the argument that...
View ArticleIllinois House Adjourns Assembly Without Pension Vote
Updated 5:30 p.m. Reporting from Illinois Public Radio's Amanda Vinicky and Brian Mackey used in this report. The Illinois House has just adjourned the 97 th General Assembly permanently, without...
View ArticleNew Session Of Ill. General Assembly Begins
Reporting from Amanda Vinicky from Illinois Public Radio. A new session of the Illinois General Assembly begins today, when candidates who won in November's elections take the oath of office. The...
View ArticleQuinn To Present Annual Budget Address This Week
Ill. Governor Pat Quinn will present his budget address in Springfield on Wednesday. The state is reported to have the worst-funded pension system in the country - and has about $97 billion in unfunded...
View ArticleQuinn Proposes $400M Education Cut, Pension System Payouts In Budget Address
Reporting from Illinois Public Radio's Amanda Vinicky. In his annual budget address today, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn laid the blame on the General Assembly for forcing him to cut spending on schools...
View ArticleIllinois Settles Federal Securities Fraud Case Over Pensions
Updated 12:41 p.m. Illinois is settling a federal securities-fraud charge that it misled investors about the health of its pension system. Gov. Pat Quinn's office said Monday that the state has agreed...
View ArticleConcerns Raised Over Funding For SIUE Pharmacy School
Illinois’s ballooning pension costs coupled with dwindling revenue from professional fees are what’s behind a proposed $1.2 million funding cut for the School of Pharmacy at Southern Illinois...
View ArticleIll. Senate Passes Pension Overhaul For Some Teachers
The Illinois Senate has passed a pension overhaul, but it only affects suburban and downstate teachers. It doesn't touch state employees' and university workers' retirement benefits. The measure was...
View ArticleIncome Taxes To Cover Millions In Interest For Unpaid Bills In Illinois
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka says the ever-long list of vendors waiting on payments from the state means taxpayers have to pay interest and their money is being "flushed away." That's...
View ArticleIllinois House Approves Comprehensive Pension Reform Plan After Years Of Talks
Updated 5:39 p.m. with reporting from Brian Mackey. The Illinois House approved a massive overhaul of state-employee pension systems on Thursday. It's a development that's been more than a year in the...
View ArticleReport: Quarter Of Ill. Spending To Go To Pensions
A new report shows nearly a quarter of Illinois' state spending plan for next year will go toward pension payments. The Illinois State House and the State Senate have so far disagreed on the best way...
View ArticleIll. Assembly Called Back To Work On Pension Fund Shortfall
Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit Transcript RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: NPR's business news starts with pension problems for Illinois. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) MONTAGNE: The credit rating for the state of...
View ArticleQuinn Rejects Pension Panel's Invite
Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn says he won't testify before a bipartisan pension panel Monday in Springfield. The Chicago Democrat told reporters Sunday that staff from his budget office would attend. The...
View ArticleIll. Gov. Quinn To Suspend Lawmakers' Pay Over Pension Crisis
Updated 11:55 a.m. with reporting by Illinois Public Radio's Brian Mackey. Governor Pat Quinn Wednesday used his veto power to eliminate salaries for Illinois legislators. Quinn says until lawmakers...
View ArticleGovernor Quinn Visits Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge
On Monday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn paid a visit to the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge in East St. Louis. Quinn said the bridge will reduce congestion and pollution and praised the jobs the...
View ArticleIll. Legislative Leaders Sue Over Halted Lawmaker Paychecks
The leaders of the Illinois House and Senate are filing a lawsuit challenging Gov. Pat Quinn's halting lawmaker pay over the state's pension gridlock. House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President...
View ArticleDeal Reached To Solve $100 Billion Illinois Pension Crisis
Will be updated. A spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan says legislative leaders have reached a deal to solve the state's $100 billion pension crisis. Steve Brown says he was told of the...
View ArticleReport: Illinois teacher pension structure exacerbates gap between rich, poor...
Illinois’ teacher pension system creates an unequal funding structure between rich and poor public school districts, a report released Wednesday said. That’s because the state pays the majority of...
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