Quinn Pleased With ‘Positive’ Framework From Pension Committee
CHICAGO (CBS) – Gov. Pat Quinn appears happy about the progress state lawmakers have been making on pension reforms. WBBM Newsradio’s Nancy Harty reports the governor said he’s waiting to see the final...
View ArticleStandard & Poor’s Lowers City’s Outlook To ‘Negative’
CHICAGO (STMW) – Chicago’s looming pension crisis — and the $1 billion shortfall it creates in 2015 — has prompted Standard & Poor’s to change from stable to negative the outlook on Chicago’s...
View ArticleHearing Today On Fight Over State Lawmakers’ Pay
CHICAGO (AP) – A Cook County Circuit Court judge was expected to hear arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging Gov. Pat Quinn’s decision to stop lawmakers from being paid until they agree on how to...
View ArticleAppeals Court Denies Quinn’s Latest Bid To Block Lawmakers’ Pay
Updated 09/27/13 – 4:38 p.m. CHICAGO (CBS) – Gov. Pat Quinn lost another round in his bid to block lawmakers’ paychecks until they send him a pension reform plan, when the Illinois Appellate Court...
View ArticleIll. Supreme Court To Hear Appeal On Lawmaker Pay Dispute
CHICAGO (AP) — Gov. Pat Quinn’s appeal of a ruling that his veto of lawmakers’ pay was unconstitutional will be heard by the Illinois Supreme Court. The high court issued its one-page order Wednesday....
View ArticleEmanuel’s 2014 Budget Speech Includes Warning About Pension Crisis
CHICAGO (CBS) – Mayor Rahm Emanuel unveiled his budget plan for next year, a spending proposal that relies on tens of millions of dollars in increased fees, fines, and taxes, though it avoids hiking...
View ArticleQuinn: Veto Session Valuable To ‘Lay Foundation’ For Key Issues
WHEELING, Ill. (AP) – Gov. Pat Quinn says he’s not discouraged that lawmakers came away from two days of their fall veto session without tackling any of the major issues on their agenda. The Chicago...
View ArticleLegislative Leaders Reach Deal On Pension Reform
CHICAGO (AP) – 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 agreement...
View ArticleLawmakers Get Details Of Pension Reform Plan; Could Vote Tuesday
CHICAGO (AP) – Illinois’ legislative leaders briefed other lawmakers Friday on details of a breakthrough agreement for solving the state’s $100 billion pension crisis, leaving them four days to study...
View ArticleIllinois Lawmakers OK Pension Reform Plan
Updated 12/3/13 – 5:50 p.m. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – The Illinois Legislature approved a historic plan Tuesday to eliminate the state’s $100 billion pension shortfall, a vote that proponents described...
View ArticleChicago Workers, Retirees Head To Springfield To Protest Pension Reform
(CBS) – Chicago public employees and retirees have been descending on Springfield on Wednesday for a rally to protest the state’s new pension reform law. WBBM Newsradio’s Bernie Tafoya reports four...
View ArticleMayor To Seek $250 Million Property Tax Hike To Address Pension Debt
Updated 04/01/14 – 2:08 p.m. CHICAGO (CBS) – Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed raising property taxes by $250 million over five years as part of a pension reform plan that also would require city workers...
View ArticleMayor Urges Governor To Sign Chicago Pension Reform Plan
Quinn Opposes Property Tax Hike To Address Pension Debt WBBM 780/105.9FMplaypause CHICAGO (CBS) – Mayor Rahm Emanuel essentially told Gov. Pat Quinn on Thursday, “I scratched your back, now you scratch...
View ArticleAldermen Back Mayor’s Plan To Hike Phone Tax To Fund Pensions
WBBM 780’s Craig Dellimore WBBM 780/105.9FMplaypause CHICAGO (CBS) – Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he has lined up enough City Council support to increase the monthly surcharge added to phone bills in...
View ArticleBGA: Suburban Police, Fire Pension Fund Shortfalls Total $3.3 Billion
WBBM 780’s Nancy Harty WBBM 780/105.9FMplaypause CHICAGO (CBS) – Police and fire departments across suburban Cook County might be in line for some budget cuts, as huge pension problems loom, according...
View ArticleJudge Rules Illinois Pension Overhaul Unconstitutional
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – An Illinois judge has ruled that a law intended to fix the nation’s worst state employee pension crisis violates the state Constitution. Sangamon County Circuit Judge John Belz...
View ArticleMadigan To Appeal Pension Law Ruling To Supreme Court “Shortly”
CHICAGO (CBS) – Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said she expects the state’s highest court could take up the state’s landmark pension overhaul plan by the end of January, now that a lower court...
View ArticleIllinois Supreme Court Allows Speedy Pension Appeal
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – The Illinois Supreme Court is allowing a speedy review of a state pension overhaul that a lower court has declared unconstitutional. The court issued an order Wednesday...
View ArticleUnions Sue To Stop Chicago Pension Overhaul
CHICAGO (AP) – Current and retired city workers and their labor unions have filed a lawsuit arguing a law overhauling Chicago’s pension systems is unconstitutional. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Cook...
View ArticleEmanuel, Rivals Spar Over Budget, Pensions At Second Debate
CHICAGO (CBS) – Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his challengers addressed the city’s budget and crippling pension debt in their second formal debate on Friday, and the mayor left the door open just a tiny bit...
View ArticleRauner Set To Lay Out His Solutions For Illinois’ Challenges
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Gov. Bruce Rauner is set to lay out his agenda for his first year in office, with a long-awaited speech expected to focus on ways to jump-start job creation and make...
View ArticleIllinois Justices Press State’s Lawyer On Pension Overhaul
Updated 03/11/15 – 6:30 p.m. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Supreme Court justices asked the state’s lawyer to explain Wednesday how the government can seek extraordinary power to reduce public...
View ArticleGarcia Gives Some Details On Budget Plan, Still Mum On Revenue
http://media.chicago.cbslocal.com/CBSCHI_20150313193933090AA.mp4 CHICAGO (CBS) – Saying the city is teetering on a financial cliff, mayoral candidate Jesus “Chuy” Garcia on Friday outlined the first...
View ArticleEmanuel Allies: Garcia Budget Plan As Real As ‘Leprechauns And Unicorns’
http://media.chicago.cbslocal.com/CBSCHI_20150319193351153AA.mp4 CHICAGO (CBS) – Allies of Mayor Rahm Emanuel have criticized challenger Jesus “Chuy” Garcia for refusing to offer detailed plans to...
View ArticleIllinois Supreme Court Tosses State Pension Overhaul
http://media.chicago.cbslocal.com/CBSCHI_20150508184100073AA.mp4 SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP/CBS) — The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday struck down a 2013 law that sought to fix the nation’s worst...
View ArticleEmanuel: City Coming Up With Plan B For Pensions After High Court Ruling
WBBM 780’s Craig Dellimore WBBM 780/105.9FMplaypause CHICAGO (CBS) — Mayor Rahm Emanuel said officials at City Hall are working on what they can do to shore up the city’s underfunded public employee...
View ArticleEmanuel To Send Aldermen His Budget Plan A Month Early
CHICAGO (CBS) — Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said he will present his budget plan to the City Council a month early this year, to help deal with the city’s pension mess. Facing a $1 billion shortfall in its...
View ArticleHouse Defeats Delay In CPS Pension Payment
UPDATE: 8:58 p.m. 6/23/15 SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Democrats’ cross-party dispute in the state Capitol turned internal Tuesday when the majority party in the House failed to approve giving...
View ArticleAnalyst: CPS Has ‘No Choice’ But To Borrow $1B Amid Cash Crunch
CHICAGO (CBS) — A top financial analyst said bond rating agencies probably won’t be troubled by the Chicago Board of Education’s vote to borrow more than $1 billion to help the Chicago Public Schools...
View ArticleDocument: Rauner Plan Would Advance $450M To Chicago Schools
CHICAGO (AP) — Gov. Bruce Rauner is offering to accelerate state grant payments to help cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools make a $634 million pension contribution, according to a summary of the...
View ArticleEmanuel Rejects Rauner Plan To Advance $450M To Chicago Schools
CHICAGO (AP) — Mayor Rahm Emanuel is rejecting Gov. Bruce Rauner’s offer to advance $450 million in state funds to help Chicago Public Schools make a $634 million pension payment. Spokeswoman Kelley...
View ArticleTesting, Evaluations Focus Of Negotiations Between CPS, Teachers
CHICAGO (CBS) — The Chicago Public Schools and its teachers are up against a deadline face as their three-year contract expires at midnight. CPS also had another deadline Tuesday on a $634 million...
View ArticlePreckwinkle: Sales Tax Hike Necessary To Keep County Afloat
CHICAGO (CBS) — Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Tuesday she will present a preliminary budget plan that includes a proposal to increase the county sales tax she spent years rolling...
View ArticleTeachers Protest CPS Budget Cuts, Layoffs
CHICAGO (CBS) — A large group of Chicago teachers and supporters was venting frustration with the Chicago Public Schools and the Emanuel administration on Thursday, as the Chicago Public Schools began...
View ArticleEmanuel To Rauner: Stop ‘Personalizing’ Budget And Pension Fight With Madigan
CHICAGO (CBS) — A day after Gov. Bruce Rauner told Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to either fall in line with his agenda or pass a tax hike on his own, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is warning Rauner that...
View ArticleLocal School Councils: “Stop Pointing Fingers” And Fix The CPS Budget
CHICAGO (CBS) — Members of Local School Councils from around the city have called on local leaders to stop pointing fingers in regard to the Chicago Public Schools’ budget situation, and find a way to...
View ArticleJudge Rules City’s 2014 Pension Overhaul Unconstitutional
CHICAGO (CBS) —A Cook County judge has thrown out the Emanuel administration’s plan to overhaul two of the city’s four employee pension systems. Union officials and retired workers applauded the ruling...
View ArticleClaypool Still Hopeful For Compromise On Pension Bailout From State
CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool said he’s not discouraged by Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s opposition to a nearly $500 million bailout of the financially-strapped...
View ArticleCivic Federation Backs Emanuel Property Tax Hike, But Has Concerns
CHICAGO (CBS) — A respected financial watchdog group has thrown its support behind Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s budget plan, but it comes with a warning. The Civic Federation called the mayor’s proposed $543...
View ArticleEmanuel’s Pension Plan Backs Legalized Marijuana, Chicago Casino,...
CHICAGO (CBS) — Mayor Rahm Emanuel is sounding the alarm on the city’s looming pension crisis, and is asking state lawmakers to legalize recreational marijuana, authorize a Chicago casino, and approve...
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