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According to The Center on Budget Policy and Priorities’ report The Impact of State Income Taxes on Low-Income Families in 2007 nine states tax the income of two-parent families of four earning less than ¾ of the federal poverty line ($15,902). Only nine states do that. And Illinois is one of them.

* Illinois Electricity Rates Won’t Soar in ‘08

* The fight over FamilyCare in Illinois

* Bloomington Could be First Municipality in Illinois to Adopt a Living Wage on Tuesday Vote

* Reading scores, skills need improving

Average statewide reading scores released Friday show 53.3 percent of 11th-graders in public schools met state standards, down from 54.1 percent in 2007 and the third straight year that high school reading scores dropped.

* Market drains state pension funds

State pension assets dropped almost $14 billion between Oct. 1, 2007, Sept. 30, 2008.

What this means is that pension systems — under-funded by the state for years — face an even bigger gap between their assets and what they’ll ultimately need to pay out to retirees.

For example, in June 2007, the Illinois Teacher’s Retirement System (TRS) was funded at 64 percent, making it one of the most underfunded public pension systems in the nation.

But the bear market has sent TRS investments into a tailspin and a June 30, 2008, audit found it funded at just 56 percent, TRS reported on Thursday.

The pensions are far from broke. The TRS, for example, had $34.1 billion at the end of September, even after its assets plunged $8.2 billion, or 19 percent.

* California state worker ratio second-lowest in the nation

In 2007 California had the 2nd lowest number of full-time equivalent state government employees relative to population among all states. California had 103 state employees for every 10,000 residents while Illinois had the lowest ratio at 97.

* Situation at Menard could alter transfers

Inmate disturbances at Menard Correctional Center in Chester which have forced the Illinois Department of Corrections to place the maximum-security facility on lockdown status concerns the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall said Wednesday afternoon that Menard is on a lockdown status due to incidents Friday, Saturday and Monday in the inmate dining rooms in the maximum-security unit of the facility.

“This is an example of the crisis that DOC is creating all over the state by closing down Pontiac Correctional Center. Pontiac is a perfectly good facility but it is being closed and that action is creating new complications everywhere else in the system,” said Lindall.

* Aldermen, businesses say mayor’s Dumpster fee stinks

“I’m very concerned about my condominium community and the impact this will have on their financial bottom line. We on one side have given condo refuse rebates and now, we’re going to go back and tax the container….We’re sending out some really conflicting messages,” Tunney said.

* City businesses balk at trash fee proposal

posted by Kevin Fanning
Monday, Nov 3, 08 @ 8:57 am

Comments

Hopefully we can change the pension system for FUTURE state workers in a Constitutional Convention. It should be a defined contribution system so the money is untouchable by irresponsible state lawmakers.
You can protect the benefits of those already in the system and make the changes on a going forward basis.
At least that would help keep us from sinking further and further behind.

Comment by Impending Crisis Monday, Nov 3, 08 @ 9:08 am
Interesting Illinois has the second-lowest rate of employees per resident. You would think with all of the hooping and hollering we were stuck with this ginormous glob of state workers. Any comment from the governor’s office? Bill?

Comment by Vote Quimby! Monday, Nov 3, 08 @ 9:22 am
VQ, Illinois has the lowest ratio, not the second-lowest ratio.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Nov 3, 08 @ 9:25 am
The whole ratio argument is a double-edged sword. If you take the position that we need more employees to handle backlogs and workload, you’re then accused of wanting to increase the size of government. If you don’t increase the number of state employees, you’re guilty of incompetent management by allowing huge backlogs, stacks of unpaid bills, and dangerous ratios of prison guards to inmates.

If you really want to see where a Governor places priorities of state employees, check staffing levels of state troopers who are on the roads, parole officers, and child/senior welfare caseworkers.

Comment by DzNts Monday, Nov 3, 08 @ 9:30 am
Nice post on the employee ratio. I did not know that. Kind of puts the “big government” demagoguery into perspective.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Nov 3, 08 @ 9:46 am
VQ “Interesting Illinois has the second-lowest rate of employees per resident. You would think with all of the hooping and hollering we were stuck with this ginormous glob of state workers. Any comment from the governor’s office? Bill? ”

Rod says we’re doing more with less ;p, oh wait, I’m not Bill.

Comment by Princess Monday, Nov 3, 08 @ 10:14 am
Part of the reason for IL’s lowest state employee/resident ratio is our many layers of local government…townships, for instance, which are not staffed in many states and whose functions are primarily performed by state workers there.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Monday, Nov 3, 08 @ 11:04 am
You can been one employee but decide to hire many others to do your busy work.

Comment by Boscobud Monday, Nov 3, 08 @ 11:59 am
Define “busy work”. As a person employed by the state Prior to Blago, who has had to work with his blundering of our system, there is no “busy work”. There are many, many over-tired, over-worked employees around the state ready to give up some of the overtime we’ve been doing for 6 years now. Good Lord, when is this nonsense going to stop?

Comment by Wickedred Monday, Nov 3, 08 @ 5:21 pm