Illinois' inability to deal with its pension problems led Standard & Poor to drop the state's bond rating this week, the Washington Post reported.
The state's unfunded pension liability has surpassed $80 billion, WGN TV reported. The TV station reported that $12 million is added to that liability every day.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Illinois has the second worst credit rating of any state in the country. Only California is worse and Standard & Poor believes that state is headed in the right direction. The Tribune reported that Illinois is not – noting that the unfunded pension liability is on track to hit $93 billion by next summer.
The Tribune reported that Quinn has been pushing for reforms, but the legislature has been unable to agree about what should be done. The newspaper noted that Quinn might use his veto of gambling expansion in the state as a way to push the legislature to deal with the issue.
In July, a Quinn plan to have workers and retirees relinquish an annual automatic 3-percent cost-of-living increase failed, the Sun-Times reported. In August, the Legislature failed to take action on several proposals meant to fix the problem.
Although you can't always tell from some of the arguments I have on Patch, I do like to wear my 'adult' hat sometimes!
You're a fraud Richard and you know it. You can only repeat what you hear from Rush and other extreme right wing pundits. When asked to consider something yourself, you can't do it. I will no longer engage in this off-topic thread with you.
Still no answer. You know why? Because you're a fraud Richard. It's that simple.
Alex, do you really think you can be taken seriously at all with comments such as, "liberal fart smell"? I'm sorry you're so resentful, but I, nor any other poster on here in which you disagree, am the cause.
So right now he's Alex. You know, every time I ask someone to prove me a liar, instead I get a personal attack (such as being called a moron, per Alex, or whatever choice of name he's using at the time). "Alex", I'm really curious as to why you've changed your name four or five times in the same string of comments.
7:52 pm on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 Wow, now your name is Joe Thompson. In case you haven't noticed, your name changes on your previous posts as well. If you are attempting to make it appear there are more people on your "side", you've kind of failed. So I'll ask you too- please provide evidence that what I've said is untrue.
And Gary- still waiting for your proof that I'm nothing but a despicable liar.
You accuse those of us who dont agree with you as slanderous, trying to marginalized you, as being hateful, ignorant, racist, and liars. I'd like to see some evidence for your claim. Where have I been slanderous, hateful, ignorant, and lying. Especially the lying part. I've asked others to identify my lies but no one has.
How very adult of you to criticize someone for not knowing the exact laws for gun ownership. I don't own a gun, so I don't really need to know everything. Rick, since your mental age seems to be about 11, I'll do you the favor of ignoring the rest of your comments. You're welcome.
Woosh- right over your heads. Hey Steve, why'd you change your name? Since this is an exercise in futility, you guys hang on to your outrage and talk amongst yourselves. See ya!
Let's see... "sick racist scumbags", "communists who love crspping on you"' and "leftist scum". Who's the one who's hateful and angry, Steve? You are incapable of handling your own hatred so you project it onto others. Calm down.
Hey, is this Richard???
Steve, you're comparing apples and oranges. Are you really unable to comprehend, or are you too angry to think about it? It seems like your emotions are trumping rational thought. If you really don't comprehend, then i'm sorry for stretching your brain out of shape. I guess I could say the same for Gary. Gary, try to get this- you are not being blamed. Understand?
Furthermore, the writer seems to think that they've been posted under different names. Is this a technical glitch on the PAtch, or are all these posts attacking each other coming from one source posting under different names, who apparently forgot to change bylines.
All of it would be better placed in an "off topic" forum. Other forums often maintain off topic areas. Moderators move off topic posts, so that they don't clutter the discussion concerning a given topic. The Patch comment sections often become unreadable due to the kind of exchange that's going on here. I hope that the Patch editors consider making a change.
As far as Illinois Pension reform, Mr. Urban said that he was considering moving his business to another State. I suggested he join Mr. Schulte in the tax haven of Florida. Now, I have a question for Mr. Urban. When you move your business (due to greed, by the way) do you plan to transfer your employees to Florida and absorb the cost? They'll have to deal with pulling kids out of school etc. Or, as I suspect have you not even considered the cost to your employees? Perhaps you just plan to lay them off like Romney would do? Business is business right? You see Mr. Urban, your greed and political leanings impact people other than just you. Did you consider this when you boldly stated you're ready to leave the State and take your business with you? What's the plan?
For Mr. Schulte (who somehow moves every topic of discussion to his unsolicited views on the "Marxists" in this country) "Delusional disorder is an illness characterized by the presence of nonbizarre delusions in the absence of other mood or psychotic symptoms, according to the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR).[1] It defines delusions as false beliefs based on incorrect inference about external reality that persist despite the evidence to the contrary and these beliefs are not ordinarily accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture." "An important aspect of delusional disorder is the identification of the form of delusion from which a person suffers...'The grandiose subtype of delusional disorder involves the conviction of one's importance and uniqueness, and takes a variety of forms: believing that one has a distinguished role, has some remarkable connections with important persons, or enjoys some extraordinary powers or abilities." Unfortunately, patients with delusional disorder do not have good insight into their pathological experiences.
Richard lives in a most interesting alternate reality, wouldn't you say? But he's the only way I know what Rush, et al. are saying. I thought it was a mistake by both parties to take the tea party lightly. I had friends say Palin would just go back into the woodwork after the last presidential election, but I didn't believe she would. Now look what has happened. The republican party has been hijacked by people who don't care what the ramifications will be if they refuse to compromise. It's all about what they want and to hell with everybody else. The American people making up the tea party don't even know what is happening because they fall in lockstep with their leaders and the media who shill for them. Moderates and other sane individuals dropped the ball by not paying attention to the movement. I can't listen to Rush without getting nauseous, so Richard is an excellent resource to use to find out what the latest outrage is or what the latest misinformation campaign may be. I'm sorry though that the topic of the article is always kicked to the wayside, though.
To paraphrase Sully, you are too simplistic to understand much of anything on a deeper level. Maybe you should move to a fracking area or to an area where pipelines are underground. From what i know of you though, you'd probably put on your cheeleading outfit with pompoms and cheer as the mountaintops are blown to kingdomcome. And all those oil leaks? Well who needs clean drinking water anyway.
You've got to be kidding! . . .Oh, you mean you prefer a dictatorship, Richie? You don't want individuals contributing to the many facets of this country? Get your head out of your arse and try thinking for yourself.
Convenient that you added man-made after the fact. Yep Rich, we're all Marxists. And we're coming after your guns, and building concentrations camps at this very moment. As soon as all you smart Americans are put away in the camps, we're installing sharia law all over the country and moving the Muslim Brotherhood into the white house. That's been Obama's plan since he was born in Kenya. He was a very precocious child, and had the birth certificate thing all figured out by the time he was three. Yes, very sneaky he is. Oh, and all the crosses at Arlington National Cemetary will be removed. Christians will have to wear purple crosses at all times so they can be identified, and Jews will wear black stars of David. It's coming Richard! And we're starting in Florida.
No Richard, only YOU are stupid enough to discount every single thing you see or hear just because that's what Rush says. You have not one independent thought in your brain; no critical thinking skills (and no, I don't care about your credentials or the high opinion of yourself as engineer or a consultant. Funny, Rich, that someone as world renowned as you had a house foreclosed on, and you couldn't find any work. I guess you've just been blackballed.). You would never dare question anything your right wing heros tell you. I'm guessing you're a big fan of Michele Bachmann, and her current hunt for the big bad Muslims taking over our government.. And we all know Sarah Palin tells the truth and nothing but the truth. Only democrats lie. The republicans are much too pure to tell an untruth (although Pennsylvania repubs told the truth about voter fraud, but they don't care). Pitiful.
That's right McCloud. It doesn't matter how many times something has been disproven or proven. Some people just can't change their minds. Most likely because that would require original and independent thought produced by the individual rather than taking someone else's word as gospel. That's why there are those who will actually vote for Romney.
Still deflecting by attacking the source. You have nothing, Richie.
Is that what you've got? Is that the proof I said whatever it is you claimed I said. Geez Rich, you can do better that. http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/271-38/12588-focus-global-warmings-terrifying-new-math Keep ignoring the facts, Rich. In the scheme of things, it really doesn't matter. The fact that you're so easily manipulated by the right wing only shows your mind is closed to anything that doesn't fit in your own narrow world. Hardly worth bragging about.