Category Archives: Illinois

A Real Plan for Illinois Finances

14 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by in Finances, Illinois

≈ Leave a comment

The civic committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago has released an all encompassing report on what Governor Pritzker and the legislators must do to get us out of this financial mess. “Restore Illinois” has been proposed by the business leaders of Chicagoland. Their plan is not as radical as it will be if their advice isn’t taken now. We know every year we hold off biting the bullet, the harder it will be to fix it.

We must all be involved in fixing the problem by having to pay more in taxes. We have benefited from having lower income tax rates than most other states. In addition to the low rates, we get many exemptions other states don’t allow. The exemptions come from lobbying our legislators, filling campaign chests, and the hope of currying favor of their constituents. The commission thinks this will add $6 billion in taxes.

Their tax rate proposal is to increase the flat rate by 1% to 5.95% and corporate rate by 1% to 8%. They also propose taxing retirement income and some consumer services. Most people don’t know Illinois does not tax retirement benefits. They recommend raising the exemption on the benefits from $1,000 to $15,000 on those retirees 65 and over.

I did not find my proposal which would be to withhold the tax when the pension check is issued. Mine would tax those who have left the state to avoid paying taxes where they earned their money.

In addition to raising taxes, the commission proposes the state employees pay more money into their health insurance plans and saving over a billion each year. They propose state employees should pay as much as employers in the private sector. This would include all people getting a state paycheck. It would include our elected and appointed officials.

We didn’t suddenly get into this mess. We have been electing people of both parties for decades that have been a part of creating the problems. “Chicago Tonight” on the February 12th episode had an interview with David Harris, Illinois Revenue Director, and Dan Hynes, Deputy Governor. Their projections were a $3.2 billion budget deficit, $15 billion in unpaid bills, $2 billion in additional bond interest, and $1.25 billion in late payment penalties on unpaid bills.

Governor Pritzker said he was going to solve the state’s financial crisis but his plan nibbles on a deficit that is getting bigger. It is time for union members, bankers, and voters to get off their butts and call the officials this paper periodically lists and DEMAND ACTION!

Get High — Just Not Here

07 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by in Drugs, Illinois, Politics

≈ Leave a comment

Soon our Illinois Legislators are going to be asked to vote to make marijuana a legal recreational drug. Their stated reason is so much illegal drug is already being used, we might as well legalize it and tax it. I knew making medical use legal was letting the camel’s nose under the tent. Would cocaine be nest?

Many of those same people that are now looking to vote Aye have professed moral issues in the past. Voting to legalize an illegal drug just so the state can get more tax money is immoral. Our legislators have used taxes to keep us from hurting ourselves. Heavily taxing tobacco products is good and put $353 million into the treasury in 2017.

People are going to drink alcoholic beverages in spite of some people damaging their livers and their lives. The state taxed us for $171 million for getting drunk. The police have a road side test to check for consumption.

Gambling is considered a sin but we have allowed a fleet of riverboats to ease the feeling by taking a piece of the action for $270 million. Why a riverboat is less of a sin than a casino in Chicago is a mystery. The lottery netted the state $720 million that wasn’t spent as promised.

The four taxes totaled over $1.244 billion in 2017. Some of the proponents of legalizing marijuana say it will net the state over $250 million, either the taxes are going to be extremely high or Illinois has a lot more druggies than believed.

Now we are considering throwing another moral out the window for taxes. This time we should consider the possibility of netting a few million while creating tens of thousands more users isn’t a good trade. Marijuana users get used to the high and many will go on to other illegal drugs.

The marijuana plants of today are not the potency of twenty years go. It has been genetically enhanced. The edible drug was just credited with being the reason for a husband killing his wife. Many other instances have shown today’s drug is dangerous. That is not what Illinois needs with all the guns in the hands of so many cowboys.

My niece and her extended family voted no in Colorado and they cite the same results as a documentary. The taxes haven’t offset the costs by law enforcement, traffic accidents, and emergency room visits. The citizens have been paying higher insurance premiums. Illegal marijuana is still available and at a lower cost than legal.

The winners in legalized are the grow companies, the retailers, and those with overflowing campaign chests. Let’s do something right and moral for Illinois and tell your legislators to vote Nay!

No Bravery in Illinois

14 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by in Illinois, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Our State’s Governor and Legislators care more about being elected than taking responsible positions on balancing the budget while paying off the current and past bills, the accrued debt, and pension debt. Legislators work in a bipartisan way to spend hundreds of millions in their districts to appease voters and contributors. One such project is an Ohio River Port for Cairo. It will be a failure just as the Mid-American Airport is. A yearly waste is unnecessary road repairs. Monies designated by special taxes are being diverted to those wasted projects. They passed taxes for designated uses for votes, and then use the money elsewhere for votes.

Our supposedly high taxes rate puts us in with the bottom half of the states because of all the deductions and exemptions we get. One exemption most people would agree could be eliminated is state pensions. The treasurer will pay out $8.5 billion this year for pensions. Eliminating it would mean $425 million for paying down the state’s debt. Taxing the pensions when issued would mean those pensioners living out -of-state would pay for money they made while living here.

Another change would be combining all five pension funds into one. This would eliminate double and triple dipping by too many people jumping from one plan to another and drawing two or three pensions. Legislators, judges, and others get one pension and after a few years, jump to another public job, and maybe another. It’s possible a person could qualify for three in twelve years. Lengthening vestment to at least ten years would save money and multiple pensions. Add in one or two Federal pensions by the same maneuvering. Combining all five would save billions in pension liabilities.

Why Leave Illinois

07 Sunday Jan 2018

Posted by in Illinois, Population

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

I grew up in a small town in southern Illinois. During a recent trip back there I met a retired couple who moved back from Wheaton at her request. He had always lived and worked in the suburbs so small town life is a new experience. They now have a newly rehabbed house on six acres with pocket change for real estate tax. He loves it and she wants to move back to Wheaton for its shopping and activities. Few people realize how much they will miss suburban life.

We discussed why people would leave the state when it has such a wide disparity in taxes, terrain, politics, religious fervor, and pace of life. We discovered other areas and how the emigrants may not have researched their new area thoroughly. My wife and I have been looking for a new area to retire for decades. Just like my new friends, a move needs to please both people because it will be our last move! I love the mountains and the roads, she won’t drive in mountains. We don’t want to live in the big city or suburbs. We like green so desert areas are out as is hot summers. Hurricane and flood-prone areas are out as were as tornado alley. Super cold and heavy snow are out, too. Our picks before we retired have already been overrun by retirees and vacationers driving up prices.

Many people decide on a place without taking into consideration all the circumstances. One couple moved to Florida to be near their daughter’s family leaving their son 1,200 miles away. Now they are moving back half way to Tennessee. Their politics and the place they picked in Florida didn’t agree. She likes shopping and museums. Their new area has neither. Leaving family and friends to move to another area can be traumatic. Sometimes one low tax is offset by another tax they hadn’t thought about.

Many of those I know that moved out of state have moved back to their previous area in Illinois. Climate change will cause more to move here as droughts and storms increase.

When I was a construction engineer, I was told there’s only two good jobs; the one I left and the one I am going to. I think moving is the same thing. No matter where we live, problems exist to irritate us