My Blog

Tag: Illinois

  • IL Public Pension Debt at $133 Billion

    Ten U.S. states have public pension liabilities that are at least as big as their annual revenues, according to a Moody’s Investors Service report released on Thursday that found the Illinois pension bill was equal to 241 percent of its revenues.  … According to Moody’s, Illinois has the largest net pension liability in the country,…

  • SEC Hits Illinois with Securities Fraud Charges

    Illinois broke federal securities laws in misstating the true health of the state’s depleted pension funds when going out onto the bond market between 2005 and early 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday.  … The finding of securities fraud doesn’t subject the state to any fines or penalties but amounts to a warning…

  • Illinois Pensions — A Simple Primer

    I found this while at the Khan Academy. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tczu_dvVuuk]

  • Crain’s Propaganda on Illinois vs. Indiana

    My comment on a brainless story: Since when is Crain’s the new PR mouthpiece for Quinn and Rahm? Except for the graphic this piece is nearly 100% opinion. So Indiana spent $300k on a campaign and got 20 or so companies to move. Those companies may provide several millions worth of tax base; yielding a…

  • Illinois’ Obnoxious Cell Phones Taxes

    Illinois was fifth in a ranking of extra wireless costs, the Tax Foundation said, with the user paying an average of about 21.8 percent in additional federal, state and local taxes and fees. Only callers in Nebraska, Washington, New York and Florida pay more. via Chicago Tribune. I was just talking to someone about this…

  • Quinn Balks at Illinois’ Fresh Interest Rate

    Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration delayed Wednesday’s planned sale of $500 million in construction bonds, saying a recent credit downgrade because of inaction on government worker pension reform left the market “unsettled.” The decision was made after officials with the governor’s budget office spoke with potential bidders who indicated they would seek interest rates higher than…

  • Credit Ratings for States

    So I just posted the Illinois is now worse that California (those of us here could have told you that two years ago.)  But I’ll bet all of you have been wondering, “Well what states have good credit ratings?”  Yes, yes.  I was wondering too.  See this nice chart I found somewhere and blatantly stole…

  • Illinois New Laws

    There are a bunch.  PDF summary is here.

  • Illinois Unemployment at 9.1%

    Unemployment across Illinois rose to 9.1 percent in August, the third straight month of increases in the state, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday. … Unemployment in July was 8.9 percent. Increases in the unemployment rate in June, July and August followed nine months of slow but steady declines. The federal government said…

  • Illinois 3rd in Foreclosures Nationally

    This is embarrassing: Foreclosures starts in Illinois are on par with those in other areas but the state’s court-supervised foreclosure system continues to bog down properties in the process. Almost 7.5 percent of all one-to-four-unit mortgage loans in Illinois were in foreclosure in the first quarter, compared with a national average of 4.39 percent, according…