It is during these local elections that taxpayers have the power to stop enabling local governments’ fiscally irresponsible spending practices, by voting “NO”
According to a May 5, 2022, article by “The Center Square, a report from the Illinois Policy Institute shows that Illinois has 6,032 units of local government, not including the state’s 859 total school districts, the most in the nation. Texas is ranked 2nd but has over twice as many people with 1,762 fewer local governments.
Justin Carlson, an Illinois Policy analyst, said the number of taxing bodies in the state has driven property taxes to the second-highest in the nation.
“We found that Illinois has over 6,000 local units of government and that excludes the 850 school districts,” Carlson said. “The bottom line is that we found in our report that Illinois has over 2,000 more than any other state and it contributes to the problem of high property taxes.”
According to Forbes, Illinois is one of the 5 worst states to live in for your finances. Illinois has an effective property tax rate of 2.11%. Illinois’s funded ratio of public pensions is less than 40%, with just 39% of the value of assets in its pension funded covering the value of its promised lifetime income benefits. Though home prices are cheaper on average compared to other states, our year-over-year home value appreciation is among the lowest rates in the 50 states analyzed in the state.
And a separate analysis by Wirepoints found Illinois’ pension formula is so generous that career teachers with 30 years or more of service retire today at an average age of 59 with starting pensions of more than $73,000.
Add up their expected years in retirement plus Illinois’ 3 percent compounded cost-of-living adjustment – one of the most generous COLAs in the country – and those career teachers will receive, on average, about $2.6 million over the course of their retirements.
“A weave of labor laws, hundreds of districts, generous salaries, constitutionally protected pensions, powerful superintendents and even more powerful unions ensure the system is protected against criticism from parents and taxpayers. The entire $38 billion system – propped up by the symbiotic relationship between unions and lawmakers – can be described as an entrenched educational-industrial complex.”
Poor student achievement and near-zero accountability: An indictment of Illinois’ public education system – Wirepoints Special Report, June 1, 2022
Link to complete report – https://wirepoints.org/poor-student-achievement-and-near-zero-accountability-an-indictment-of-illinois-public-education-system-wirepoints-special-report/
The 6% Retirement Bump
The Center Cass SD 66 BOE approved a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Center Cass Education Association (CCEA) in November 2019 to increase teacher salaries 6% per year, for each of the 4 years preceding their retirement.
“It is safe to say that all districts are very aware of the 6% threshold and the costs the law imposes for granting raises in excess of the threshold. This is especially true when a school district’s budget is tight,” he said. “Also, the media’s mistaken, but widespread, identification of the 6% threshold as a ‘penalty’ creates a headline risk that school districts shy away from when making decisions. The excess cost is not a ‘penalty’ because a district is not doing anything illegal in granting a raise above 6%. Granting that raise is a conscious decision that generates a ‘cost,’ much like making a conscious decision to buy a six pack of beer. You have to pay the relevant taxes for that decision and that’s an ‘excess cost.’”
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