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Post by southsidesignmaker on Oct 19, 2011 10:41:15 GMT -6
Big Mac,
There is one solution: A Controlled Bankruptcy (similar to the auto bailout of 08).
Institute martial law at the state level.
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Post by macrockett on Nov 4, 2011 10:41:51 GMT -6
Illinois. What a joy! Prior to the 67% increase in our income taxes, we were around $8 billion in arrears on our expenses. The income tax increase, approximately $6 billion, was used to fund the State's contribution for one year. How is the State otherwise? Still looking at $8 billion in arrears. And the Unfunded Pension liability for State employees? Growing...growing and growing. Listen to IL State Treasurer on CNBC this A.M. video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000050325In the above post (and prior posts for that matter), I have stated that the numbers just don't add up. I understand the math, starting my career as a CPA. The math doesn't add up at the Federal, State or even at may Local levels of government. The debt and unfunded liabilities just keep piling up, just like in Greece, Italy and Spain. We are quickly reaching the 11th hour where only a few things can happen, like insolvency, debt being restructured, contracts being rewritten, etc. Until that point is reached, Illinois will continue to bleed every family in the State. Here is the latest from Adam:
“The first tax hike was to pay the pensions. The second is to pay the bills.”
Last January, the Democrats hiked your income taxes from 3-5%, a 67% increase. No Republicans voted for it. Democrats owned it.
They called the income tax hike… temporary.
Here’s what my Chicago Democrat friends are telling me now: after the November 2012 elections, in the lame duck session, they’re going to increase the income tax from 5-7%, a 40% increase.
Every dime of the January tax hike when to pay the pensions. This left Illinois with $8 billion of unpaid bills. Did they cut spending? No. Last spring, the legislature spent a $1 billion more.
The January income tax hike wasn’t temporary. It’s permanent and going higher.
We must do something about it!
On Saturday, November 12 at the Hilton Garden Inn- Champaign, we host our For The Good of Illinois VIP Banquet: Gather at 6pm and Dinner at 6:30pm. Tickets are $35, reserve your seat here.
An incredible line-up of compelling speakers will deliver a forceful message of reform:
Tony Pomonis- a dynamic, young Champaign-Bloomington restaurateur.
John Bambenek- a scientist who sounded the Illinois fiscal alarm in 2007 and wrote the book on it.
Michael Callahan- a national hero who helped reverse a double-murder wrongful conviction and death row sentence. He authored Too Politically Sensitive.
Honoring Sen. Shane Cultra and Rep. Jason Barrickman- two of only seven of 177 members of the general assembly with a perfect score on our For The Record Legislative Scorecard.
Who will win our Super Citizen Awards? Regular people with uncompromising persistence.
During my keynote address, I’ll break statewide news.
Please RSVP to this email or purchase your seats online here.
Here’s an extra bonus- meet my wife, Kerry and three little girls- Ellie, Molly and Emma Kate.
It will be a watershed moment in Central Illinois politics. Don’t miss it.
Sincerely,
Adam Andrzejewski
Founder | CEO
For the Good of IllinoisPS. In Oak Brook, on Friday, Nov 11th, come to our Liberty Lunch at Hyatt Lodge- McDonalds in Oak Brook on Veteran’s Day. Lunch features National Policy Director of AFP, and author of Democracy Denied, Phil Kerpen. Click here to reserve your lunch ticket. All in attendance will received a complementary signed book. I can’t wait to see you. |
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Post by macrockett on Jan 20, 2012 11:52:37 GMT -6
I noted this Illinois downgrade on January 7th in the Economics Section. online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204555904577164944279702590.html?KEYWORDS=illinoisThe Greece Next Door
Illinois gets a credit downgrade, in contrast to Wisconsin.
Run up spending and debt, raise taxes in the naming of balancing the budget, but then watch as deficits rise and your credit-rating falls anyway. That's been the sad pattern in Europe, and now it's hitting that mecca of tax-and-spend government known as Illinois.
Though too few noticed, this month Moody's downgraded Illinois state debt to A2 from A1, the lowest among the 50 states. That's worse even than California. The state's cost of borrowing for $800 million of new 10-year general obligation bonds rose to 3.1%—which is 110 basis points higher than the 2% on top-rated 10-year bonds of more financially secure states. This wasn't supposed to happen. Only a year ago, Governor Pat Quinn and his fellow Democrats raised individual income taxes by 67% and the corporate tax rate by 46%. They did it to raise $7 billion in revenue, as the Governor put it, to "get Illinois back on fiscal sound footing" and improve the state's credit rating. So much for that. In its downgrade statement, Moody's panned Illinois lawmakers for "a legislative session in which the state took no steps to implement lasting solutions to its severe pension underfunding or to its chronic bill payment delays." An analysis by Bloomberg finds that the assets in the pension fund will only cover "45% of projected liabilities, the least of any state." And—no surprise—in part because the tax increases have caused companies to leave Illinois, the state budget office confesses that as of this month the state still has $6.8 billion in unpaid bills and unaddressed obligations. It's worth contrasting this grim picture with that of Wisconsin north of the border. Last winter Madison was occupied by thousands of union protesters trying to bully legislators to defeat Republican Governor Scott Walker's plan to require government workers to pay a larger share of their health-plan costs, and to shore up the pension system by trimming future retirement liabilities. The reforms passed anyway. In contrast to the Illinois downgrade, Moody's has praised Mr. Walker's budget as "credit positive for Wisconsin," adding that the money-saving reforms bring "the state's finances closer to a structural budgetary balance." As a result, Wisconsin jumped in Chief Executive magazine's 2011 ranking of each state's business climate—moving to 17th from 41st. Illinois dropped to 48th from 45th as ranked by the nation's top CEOs. Yet Mr. Walker, who balanced the budget without new taxes, is the governor facing a union-financed attempt to recall him from office this year. If Wisconsin voters want to see where a state ends up without the kind of reforms that Mr. Walker made, they need only look to the Greece next door. Copyright 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com |
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Post by macrockett on Jan 20, 2012 11:59:43 GMT -6
After the above article, read this one. Then ask yourself why any rational person would contribute a dime to reelect Madigan. Afterall, isn't he one of those primarily responsible for where Illinois is fiscally? We all know the answer, it's called parasites. Those who live off of the quid pro quo of Madigan staying in office. Once you understand that, you understand what is wrong with our country. www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-campaign-finance-reports-20120118,0,4740564.story chicagotribune.com Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan received more than $1.5 million in campaign contributions By Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune reporter January 18, 2012 Advertisement Political bank accounts controlled by Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan received more than $1.5 million in campaign contributions in the final three months of 2011, records filed with state elections officials showed Tuesday. The donations gave Madigan, the state Democratic chairman and longest-serving leader of the House, more than $2.27 million in campaign cash to start 2012 — an election year in which all 118 House seats are up for election. Among the top donors to the Friends of Michael J. Madigan and Democratic Majority political funds were various political action committees tied to the Laborers' union with at least $147,000 in contributions. The Associated Firefighters of Illinois PAC donated at least $95,000, while the Health Care Council of Illinois PAC gave at least $85,000, campaign records showed.
Madigan's personal campaign fund reported raising more than $793,498 from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, while the Democratic Majority fund that he also controls raised more than $777,476, state campaign finance records showed. In contrast, political funds controlled by House Republicans, the minority party in the chamber for the last 14 years, generated at least $673,690 in donations. The political bank accounts, run by Rep. Tom Cross, of Oswego, the House minority leader, held $898,744 to start the year.
Tuesday was the deadline for politicians in state and local offices to file quarterly reports for the final three months of 2011 with the Illinois State Board of Elections. Republicans in the legislature face the disadvantage of new Democratic-drawn boundaries for the election. The main state Senate Republican campaign fund showed $390,224 in contributions and had $553,571 in cash available. Still to be reported were the Senate Democratic campaign fund and the funds of the Senate's leaders, Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, and Republican leader Christine Radogno, of Lemont. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's chief campaign fund raised only $642 in interest during the three-month period. But Emanuel made a final payment of $73,883 to end a near $474,000 debt to the Mayer Brown law firm for its work defending the former White House chief of staff against a residency complaint aimed at knocking him off the ballot for mayor. rap30@aol.com Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune |
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Post by doctorwho on Jan 22, 2012 11:26:44 GMT -6
I noted this Illinois downgrade on January 7th in the Economics Section. online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204555904577164944279702590.html?KEYWORDS=illinoisThe Greece Next Door
Illinois gets a credit downgrade, in contrast to Wisconsin.
Run up spending and debt, raise taxes in the naming of balancing the budget, but then watch as deficits rise and your credit-rating falls anyway. That's been the sad pattern in Europe, and now it's hitting that mecca of tax-and-spend government known as Illinois.
Though too few noticed, this month Moody's downgraded Illinois state debt to A2 from A1, the lowest among the 50 states. That's worse even than California. The state's cost of borrowing for $800 million of new 10-year general obligation bonds rose to 3.1%—which is 110 basis points higher than the 2% on top-rated 10-year bonds of more financially secure states. This wasn't supposed to happen. Only a year ago, Governor Pat Quinn and his fellow Democrats raised individual income taxes by 67% and the corporate tax rate by 46%. They did it to raise $7 billion in revenue, as the Governor put it, to "get Illinois back on fiscal sound footing" and improve the state's credit rating. So much for that. In its downgrade statement, Moody's panned Illinois lawmakers for "a legislative session in which the state took no steps to implement lasting solutions to its severe pension underfunding or to its chronic bill payment delays." An analysis by Bloomberg finds that the assets in the pension fund will only cover "45% of projected liabilities, the least of any state." And—no surprise—in part because the tax increases have caused companies to leave Illinois, the state budget office confesses that as of this month the state still has $6.8 billion in unpaid bills and unaddressed obligations. It's worth contrasting this grim picture with that of Wisconsin north of the border. Last winter Madison was occupied by thousands of union protesters trying to bully legislators to defeat Republican Governor Scott Walker's plan to require government workers to pay a larger share of their health-plan costs, and to shore up the pension system by trimming future retirement liabilities. The reforms passed anyway. In contrast to the Illinois downgrade, Moody's has praised Mr. Walker's budget as "credit positive for Wisconsin," adding that the money-saving reforms bring "the state's finances closer to a structural budgetary balance." As a result, Wisconsin jumped in Chief Executive magazine's 2011 ranking of each state's business climate—moving to 17th from 41st. Illinois dropped to 48th from 45th as ranked by the nation's top CEOs. Yet Mr. Walker, who balanced the budget without new taxes, is the governor facing a union-financed attempt to recall him from office this year. If Wisconsin voters want to see where a state ends up without the kind of reforms that Mr. Walker made, they need only look to the Greece next door. Copyright 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.comevery country that voted for Quinn should remain with him- and Wisconsin should annex the rest of Illinois |
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Post by doctorwho on Jan 22, 2012 11:28:55 GMT -6
After the above article, read this one. Then ask yourself why any rational person would contribute a dime to reelect Madigan. Afterall, isn't he one of those primarily responsible for where Illinois is fiscally? We all know the answer, it's called parasites. Those who live off of the quid pro quo of Madigan staying in office. Once you understand that, you understand what is wrong with our country. www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-campaign-finance-reports-20120118,0,4740564.story chicagotribune.com Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan received more than $1.5 million in campaign contributions By Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune reporter January 18, 2012 Advertisement Political bank accounts controlled by Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan received more than $1.5 million in campaign contributions in the final three months of 2011, records filed with state elections officials showed Tuesday. The donations gave Madigan, the state Democratic chairman and longest-serving leader of the House, more than $2.27 million in campaign cash to start 2012 — an election year in which all 118 House seats are up for election. Among the top donors to the Friends of Michael J. Madigan and Democratic Majority political funds were various political action committees tied to the Laborers' union with at least $147,000 in contributions. The Associated Firefighters of Illinois PAC donated at least $95,000, while the Health Care Council of Illinois PAC gave at least $85,000, campaign records showed.
Madigan's personal campaign fund reported raising more than $793,498 from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, while the Democratic Majority fund that he also controls raised more than $777,476, state campaign finance records showed. In contrast, political funds controlled by House Republicans, the minority party in the chamber for the last 14 years, generated at least $673,690 in donations. The political bank accounts, run by Rep. Tom Cross, of Oswego, the House minority leader, held $898,744 to start the year.
Tuesday was the deadline for politicians in state and local offices to file quarterly reports for the final three months of 2011 with the Illinois State Board of Elections. Republicans in the legislature face the disadvantage of new Democratic-drawn boundaries for the election. The main state Senate Republican campaign fund showed $390,224 in contributions and had $553,571 in cash available. Still to be reported were the Senate Democratic campaign fund and the funds of the Senate's leaders, Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, and Republican leader Christine Radogno, of Lemont. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's chief campaign fund raised only $642 in interest during the three-month period. But Emanuel made a final payment of $73,883 to end a near $474,000 debt to the Mayer Brown law firm for its work defending the former White House chief of staff against a residency complaint aimed at knocking him off the ballot for mayor. rap30@aol.com Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune I witnessed this first hand growing up in the city and Madigan was even powerfula at that time -- here in Madiganistan now the corrupt beast feeds of inself incestually. Everyone taking their share of the pie and leaving nothing for the original intent. It really is disgusting |
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Post by macrockett on Feb 17, 2012 10:01:44 GMT -6
Label this "The gift that keeps on giving." Not only does the Illinois taxpayer pay 67% high taxes, but we also pay for the salaries of cronies that Quinn paid to vote for the tax increase! Governor of Illinois. No wonder they have their own wing at the State House Prison. www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-flider-0217-20120217,0,447186.story chicagotribune.com
All these Quinncidences
Yet another of the governor's tax hike enablers lands, yes, a taxpayer-funded jobFebruary 17, 2012 An Illinois payback in three acts: July 29, 2010: "Flider Continues to Oppose Income Tax Increase" — Press release from state Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion. The Decatur Herald & Review later reports that, while campaigning for re-election in October 2010, Flider called Gov. Pat Quinn's proposed 1-percentage-point personal income tax hike "the absolute last thing we need to be doing," and urged that Illinois "eliminate waste" and make "hard choices." On Election Day, Flider is defeated. Jan. 13, 2011: "Flider supports income tax increase during final day in office after campaigning against it" — Decatur Herald & Review on Flider's vote for a 2-percentage-point tax increase, which House Democrats passed by one vote. No Republican voted for it. Feb. 16: 2012: "Quinn names tax hike lawmaker to lead agriculture agency" — Chicago Tribune, noting that the state pays the head of its Department of Agriculture $133,273 a year. If confirmed by the Illinois Senate, Flider will be the fourth of 12 House Democrats who as lame ducks voted for Quinn's 67-percent tax hike and subsequently landed good-paying, taxpayer-funded jobs through the governor. Two more landed government jobs elsewhere. A tip of the hat to Rich Miller's Capitolfax.com and to Illinois Republicans for the first two items. The people of Illinois are left with a question asked so often here that we ought to have it engraved: Why does Pat Quinn make his tax-hike enablers look like his co-conspirators in a political payback scheme? Of course, to think this pattern is anything but payback, you need to be (1) terminally gullible and (2) convinced that Illinois' gene pool of citizens fit for cushy public jobs is dominated by lame duck Democrats who awakened that fateful 1/11/11 just itching to flip-flop on a monumental tax vote. Our hearts go out to the Quinn spokespeople who have no choice but to keep saying that the tax vote had nothing to do with the governor's appointments, and that all these Democrats are uniquely qualified to again be public payrollers. You're supposed to think these are just Quinncidences. The curious pattern started three days after the tax vote when Quinn appointed ex-lawmaker Careen Gordon to a seat on the state Prisoner Review Board. Gordon — like Flider, she had campaigned against Quinn's tax hike proposal — also lost her re-election bid in November 2010. She soon approached Quinn about the board job, they talked again in December, she delivered for the governor in January and, well, you know. Legislators were so uncomfortable about that tawdry episode that, in March 2011, Gordon quit the Prisoner Review Board rather than face a tough confirmation vote in the Senate. Not to worry: A month later, in another Quinncidence, the governor's doubtless worldwide search for an associate general counsel at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation led him to appoint ... Careen Gordon! There have been more Quinncidences that benefited Democrats who left office after voting for this jobs-crushing — have you seen the Illinois unemployment trend? — tax increase: • Quinn found former Rep. Mike Smith uniquely qualified for a gig on the Educational Labor Relations Board. • Quinn found former Rep. David Miller uniquely qualified for a gig at the Department of Public Health. There's more: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle last June said legislative service was a "credit" that helped qualify former state Reps. John O'Sullivan and Michael Carberry for gigs as, respectively, a regional superintendent at the county's Forest Preserve District and a deputy director in facilities management. Quoth Preckwinkle: "I'm grateful to people who are willing to serve in government." And now we have the uniquely qualified Flider. As we keep saying, we never would suggest anything improper about these Quinncidences involving a governor and legislators who, in the final hours of their lame-duckery, gave him the tax votes he desperately needed. What happens now? We hope Senate President John Cullerton — even after his members get past the March 20 primary — tells Quinn he won't be party to using taxpayer money, raised by a tax hike, to reward Democrats who voted for that tax hike. If Careen Gordon was too hot for the Senate to handle, so is Flider. Think, senators, about how complicit you want to be in this. Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune |
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Post by macrockett on Feb 17, 2012 10:04:02 GMT -6
Maybe the above story is one of the reasons that Quinn has such a poor approval rating in IL. (I can think of a dozen others, however). www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-governor-pat-quinn-0210-20120210,0,3719363.story chicagotribune.com Quinn still unpopular in Illinois, Tribune poll finds
Only 3 in 10 voters approve of governor's job performance, while 54 percent disapprove
By Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune reporter 10:30 PM CST, February 9, 2012 Advertisement Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn finds his leadership under fire from Illinois voters unhappy with the state's economy, a new Tribune/WGN-TV poll shows. The survey found 54 percent disapprove of Quinn's job performance, compared with only 30 percent who approve. It was the highest level of Quinn disapproval registered in Tribune polling since August 2009, seven months after he took over from an impeached Rod Blagojevich.The dim view of Quinn comes a year after the governor and fellow Democrats steered Illinois in a more liberal direction by approving a major income-tax increase, abolishing the death penalty and legalizing civil unions. Despite the tax hike, state government remains mired in debt, limiting Quinn and legislative leaders' ability to move Illinois forward.The governor, however, has shown great political resiliency. Quinn's approval rating is at its lowest level since early September 2010, when it registered at 28 percent. Weeks later, Quinn ended up narrowly winning the governor's election against conservative Republican state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington. Yes, but only with unions voting 2 to 1 for Quinn while the balance of the electorate voted him out of office.The poll of 600 registered voters, which has an error margin of 4 percentage points, was conducted Feb. 2-6. The interviews began a day after Quinn delivered an optimistic State of the State speech to lawmakers in Springfield in which he declared that after three years of his leadership, "Illinois is back on course. Illinois is moving forward. And Illinois is a place that we can be proud to claim as our own." That's not the view many Illinoisans hold about the state's economy. About three-quarters of Illinois voters said they failed to see an improvement in Illinois' economy or thought that it is getting worse. Of that group, 88 percent disapproved of Quinn. The numbers prove the political adage that presidents and governors tend to wear the jacket for a down economy. The general discontent with Quinn stretches across partisan, geographic, racial and gender lines. The governor scores best within his own party, though the poll found fewer than half of those who identified themselves as Democrats approve of Quinn's job performance — 44 percent. But 61 percent of independent voters, always a key political demographic in statewide elections, expressed disapproval with his handling of the job. In Democrat-dominated Chicago, only 43 percent of voters liked the job Quinn is doing, while 41 percent disapproved. In suburban Cook County, 45 percent of voters disapproved while 43 percent approved. In the collar counties, 57 percent didn't like Quinn's job performance, compared with only 27 percent who approved. Quinn's numbers were even more dismal among voters outside the six-county Chicago metropolitan area: 65 percent disapproved while only 18 percent approved. The disapproval numbers outside the metro area and in the collar counties are the worst recorded in Tribune polling on Quinn since he became governor. Among African-American voters, a key Democratic constituency, Quinn's support was soft at 48 percent, with 35 percent of blacks surveyed disapproving. Among voters who called themselves liberals, Quinn's approval rating was 49 percent. But among those who called themselves moderates or conservatives, clear majorities disapproved of Quinn's governance. The survey also found 60 percent of men and 50 percent of women were unhappy with Quinn's leadership. That includes 43 percent of white suburban women, a socially moderate voting demographic credited in part with the Democratic governor's 2010 election victory because of his Republican opponent's socially conservative views. Since the election, Quinn agreed to a 67 percent increase in the state's personal income-tax rate, a larger tax hike than he supported during the campaign. During a lame-duck session after the election, lawmakers approved a ban on the death penalty and a bill allowing same-sex couples to get civil unions. The two measures staked out new territory for the state on long-standing controversial social and cultural issues. The governor signed both bills into law. The higher personal and corporate income taxes have not erased Illinois' budget problems. The state still has billions of dollars in unpaid bills to providers of state services such as health care to the poor. A public employee pension debt eats away more and more of what money the state does have to spend. rap30@aol.com Twitter @rap30 Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune |
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Post by macrockett on Aug 30, 2012 14:30:43 GMT -6
If Illinois were a person, it would have a big "L" imprinted on its forehead. While our neighbors continue to reform their State governments, Illinois continues down the road to ruin of "tax and spend". The trouble is, all that seems to be accomplished is more and more taxpayer $$$ going to pay down the public pensions liabilities that are spiraling out of control... What is the result of this Illinois train wreck? Wait...here is the punch line... yes, yet another credit downgrade!
S&P Downgrades Illinois' Credit RatingPublished August 29, 2012 Reuters Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Wednesday downgraded Illinois' credit rating by one notch to A from A-plus, citing the state's large budget imbalance and an $83 billion unfunded pension liability.
The action affecting the state's general obligation bonds comes less than two weeks after a special Illinois legislative session on pension reform ended without a solution to rein in costs for the state's five pension funds.
"The downgrade reflects the state's weak pension funding levels and lack of action on reform measures intended to improve funding levels and diminish cost pressures associated with annual contributions," said S&P analyst Robin Prunty in a statement. Investors in the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal bond market have been demanding higher yields for Illinois debt as the state's fiscal problems fester. Many states are struggling with budgetary constraints and pension liabilities, but the fiscal problems in Illinois predate the 2007-2009 recession and have continued to worsen. It also keeps Illinois as the second lowest-rated U.S. state after California, which is rated A-minus by S&P. S&P had warned in March that a potential multi-notch downgrade was in store if Illinois did not deal with its longstanding fiscal problems this year. The state was hit with only a single notch cut in its rating, affecting $27.5 billion of outstanding GO debt, but its outlook remains negative. The lower rating also reflects Illinois' "continued financial weakness despite significant measures in the past two years to improve structural budget performance," Prunty said. The ratings agency said its negative outlook reflects the potential for further erosion of the state's pension liability over the next two years and budget risks due to the Jan. 1, 2015, expiration of big income tax rate increases enacted in 2011. Gov. Pat Quinn, who used the possibility of a credit rating downgrade to bring legislators into the unsuccessful Aug. 17 special session, said he will invite legislative leaders to meet on pension reform early next month. "The only thing standing between Illinois and comprehensive pension reform is politics," the Democratic governor said in a statement. "We must put politics aside. Pointing fingers will not resolve this problem." But Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford, a Republican, said pension reform may be on hold until after the Nov. 6 election. "I think the election is the magic moment to bring along a timeline for a resolution," he said in a conference call with reporters. Political squabbling and labor union protests helped unravel the special session. Powerful Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan allowed his chamber to take up a bill curbing only the pensions of state lawmakers that was not called for a final vote. A bipartisan bill passed by the Senate in May to ease pension costs for lawmakers and state employees "could have sent a positive message to the investment community that there is a bipartisan path toward comprehensive pension reform," said a statement from Democratic Senate President John Cullerton's office. In a joint statement, Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno and House Republican leader Tom Cross called for immediate action to craft comprehensive pension legislation instead of a piecemeal approach. S&P's A rating for Illinois matches the A2 rating following a downgrade by Moody's Investors Service in January. That left Illinois with the lowest rating among states Moody's rates. Illinois is also rated A by Fitch Ratings. Moody's last week said Illinois' failure to improve its pension liability was a negative credit factor. Illinois' so-called credit spread over Municipal Market Data's benchmark triple-A scale for 10-year debt narrowed earlier this week to approximately 145 basis points from 157 basis points as the state's still-hefty yields outweighed credit concerns for investors seeking to boost their returns, according to MMD, a unit of Thomson Reuters. For California, which also has a sizable budget deficit and where a deal on pension reform was announced on Tuesday, the credit spread is less than half of Illinois' at 66 basis points. Read more: www.foxbusiness.com/government/2012/08/29/sp-downgrades-illinois-credit-rating/#ixzz253zvx1t5 |
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