While Illinois politicians vacillate on the issue of public pension reform, the investment ratings firm Moody’s is proposing that pension funds lower their projection of future investment returns to 5.5%. TRS (Teachers Retirement System), the largest public pension plan in Illinois, assumes an annual investment return of 8.5%. A recent article by Pensions and Investing (pionline.com) on the Moody’s proposal states that this change would immediately increase Illinois’ actuarially calculated $83 billion pension shortfall to a whopping $135 billion. And who would be responsible for every penny …

On March 19 Palatine updated local ordinance 3-14 "Gambling Prohibited. There shall be no card games or gambling allowed on any premises licensed to sell alcoholic liquor" to append the clause "unless otherwise exempted by law". Justification presented for this change listed "pull tabs", ostensibly to allow them. However, I have repeatedly questioned how this clause while allowing pull tabs would also not have caused Palatine to also "Opt In" to permitting video gambling devices in its liquor establishments. It is noteworthy too that the definition of “gambling” in the Illinois Statutes is …

Dear Editor, The recent comments by Gov. Quinn and Mayor Emanuel signal a renewed effort toward pension reform that would include shifting of a portion of pension costs for teachers to the property tax bills of local residents. Residents of Schaumburg, Palatine & Hoffman Est. will see our property taxes go up even further. To the D-211 School Board: What are you all doing to preventing this  (“portion of the cost onto our property tax bills”) from happening?  It is the Unions, School Boards  the TRS  and Politicians who made this a huge problem, NOT THE TAXPAYERS.  I’m all for pension reform…

In advance of contract negotiations, CTC (the union representing CCSD15 teachers) started an ad campaign to discredit financial claims made by the school administration. In their ad CTC suggests the district has a history of "grossly inaccurate projections", obviously to convey the impression the district routinely underestimates revenue. For 2008 CTC demonstrates the district budgeted for a deficit of $2.5 million but experienced a deficit of only $206,000. So, it must have "found" over $2 million in unanticipated revenue, right? Wrong. Actual revenue came in $1.6 million less than projected…

Before a recent Illinois pension law targeting pay spiking went into effect, many school districts awarded upward of 20 percent salary increases in each of the final years for an employee planning to retire. After the new law, school districts were limited to 6 percent annual increases in the final years before they got penalized, but were still free to give larger increases if they wished. Take for example Palatine Township Elementary District 15, which for many years up until 2009 routinely awarded two or three years of between 15 percent and 20 percent increases for both teachers and …

The current public pension funding plan, which aims to achieve a 90 percent funded level by 2045, comes at a very steep price with considerable risk. To illustrate I will use data for the Teachers Retirement System (TRS), which represents the highest of Illinois’ pension obligations, as taken from a June 2011 report by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (http://www.ilga.gov/commission/cgfa2006). Starting from 2010 the state is mandated to provide pension funding based on a level percentage of payroll. For 2011 the state’s obligation was about $2.2 billion, or roughly …

Dear Editor, Section 5 of the Illinois Constitution states “Membership in any pension or retirement system … shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.” Senate President John Cullerton and others point to this clause to say that changes to pension offerings, such as those proposed by Senate Bill 512, are unconstitutional. So what does Senate Bill 512 do that might be unconstitutional? First, for the employees still on the traditional pension plan it provides for the voluntary choice of two new retirement plan offerings: the …

With all the rhetoric regarding the State of Illinois not paying its fair amount towards its public pension obligations I decided I would have a look at the numbers myself. And what better place is there to look than the TRS (Teachers Retirement System) website (trs.illinois.gov). All the following information was taken from this site. While I acknowledge the actuarial funding level of TRS declined from 59.5 percent in 2001 to only 48.4 percent in 2010, the question is “why”. Simply put, it’s a matter of revenues not keeping up with expenses. So, let’s take a closer look. Over the ten year …

We have lived behind Paddock School on the other side of the creek for more than  30 years. A number of years ago the Park District put in a gravel walking path with benches. It has been very nice for the neighborhood kids to ride their bikes and us older folks to stroll along the creek. The past 2 years have seen it fall to complete disrepair. Most of the gravel is washed away leaving weeds; the benches have graffiti on them; and bushes grow into the path. Last fall a large tree fell onto a baseball diamond and hung there with yellow danger tape on it for 4 months. This summer it took five …

To Whom it May Concern: We are writing this letter regarding the potential closure of Willow Wood Pool in Palatine. The Park District Board intends to discuss the closing this 47-year old pool April 26 at the Palatine Park District Board Meeting. The Palatine Park District’s mission is to provide a variety of safe, enjoyable and affordable parks and recreation facilities and activities that will enhance the quality of life by promoting good health and well-being for all residents and visitors of the Palatine Park District. It is their recommendation to close one of these recreation facilities…

Here is the weird thing about this election: Dave Seiffert's current term does not expire until 2013. Yes, that is correct. He literally cannot lose on Tuesday. However, if voters choose to give him a 4-year seat, they are taking a huge risk. Why? Because if that happens, his 2-year seat will again be filled by appointment. This can happen before the new board is seated. Why is that a problem? If either Gerald Chapman or James Ekeberg lose on Tuesday, one of them could be appointed to that seat and will serve another 2 years, even though the public did not choose them. A vote guaranteeing him…

For the upcoming election April 5, it is imperative that we achieve some balance on the Community Consolidated School District 15 board. That is why I am supporting candidates Manjula Sriram, Scott Herr and Gerard Iannuzzelli. They are ballot positions 1-3-5. Four short years ago, just a few days before the last election, all three District 15 unions directly contributed nearly $13,000 to their chosen candidates’ committee. The kicker came when the Classroom Teachers Council later revealed in July 2007 how they spent an additional $21,000 to benefit those same chosen candidates. Collectively…

On Tuesday April 5, the residents and taxpayers of Community Consolidated School District 15 will be selecting fellow community members to the Board of Education. Three of the candidates currently are incumbents and have not demonstrated their worthiness for re-election. Two of the candidates Gerald Chapman and Jim Ekeberg along with fellow board members Richard Bokor and Peggy Babcock are directly responsible for financial problems that face the district. You see, they approved contractual obligations with District employees knowing that these obligations would result in deficit-laden …

I am voting for Bryan Neal for the District 211 School Board and I encourage all of us to do the same. We will have change on the 211 board with this election. Bryan gives us a great opportunity for that change to be positive. With the futures of 12,000 students and a quarter of a billion dollars of taxpayer money at stake, we should demand board members who are intelligent, understand and take the time to learn the complexities of our school system and are able to make difficult and independent decisions. Bryan brings a unique persepctive in that he understands the value of a quality …