Share Tweet Share Email
Tag: State of Illinois
The Illinois House has approved a comprehensive pension-reform measure sponsored by House Speaker Michael Madigan by a vote of 62-51 Thursday afternoon. Senate Bill 1 is designed to close a $97 billion deficit that hangs over the state’s pension plans. Underfunding for decades has left the pension systems short of what they need. The bill...
Mike Madigan
The Illinois House Personnel and Pensions Committee passed a pension reform plan put forth by Speaker Michael J. Madigan by a 9-1 vote, clearing the way for the pension reform bill to be called before the full House today. Madigan’s plan calls for employees to pay 2 percent more of salary toward their retirement plans....
Symbol of the State of Illinois
In Springfield … Both the House and the Senate are in session this week in Springfield. Several bills of interest to the NIU community advanced in the legislative process during last week’s Senate action. SB 1900 (Biss) passed the Senate unanimously and has been assigned to the House Higher Education Committee for consideration. It requires...
State Pension & Budget Update
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan filed an amendment to a comprehensive pension-reform package passed by the Senate last month that caps the salary on which a pension can be based and limits annual cost-of-living increases. The House Personnel & Pensions Committee is scheduled to consider the legislation at an 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 1, meeting. The...
Symbol of the State of Illinois
In Springfield … Last Friday – April 19 – was the deadline for House bills to be voted out of the House to the Senate. Thursday, April 25, is the last day for Senate bills to be voted out of the Senate to the House. The House of Representatives will not meet this week, but the...
State Rep. Robert Pritchard
Born Feb. 2, 1945, State Rep. Robert Pritchard, R-Hicnkley, grew up on a farm near Maple Park, Ill. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication at the University of Illinois, where he met his wife, Mary. They married in 1968. She is the associate dean of the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences....
Dave Syverson
Born June 29, 1957, in Chicago, State Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, was raised and educated in Rockford, where he and his wife of 28 years, Shirley, raised their two children. Syverson currently serves in the role as assistant Republican leader in the Illinois Senate as well as the Republican spokesman for the Senate Health and...
Photo of a man hanging his head over a pile of unpaid bills
In Springfield … As the Illinois General Assembly struggles to deal with the massive backlog of unpaid bills, a measure is moving through the House of Representatives, supported by Speaker Madigan, which would authorize the sale of $2.5 billion of general obligations bonds. Up to $2 billion of the bond proceeds would go Medicaid providers,...
Seal of the State of Illinois
The presidents and chancellors of the 14 public universities in Illinois have unanimously endorsed a six-point proposal for addressing the state’s pension funding crisis as it relates to the State Universities Retirement System (SURS), and in a letter to the governor and legislative leaders they called it “a thoughtful and responsible approach.” “We write to...
Photo of a penion plan bar graph and calculator
In Springfield … Last week was the deadline for bills to get out of committees in their chamber of origin, so most of the action occurred in the various committees. However, there were some significant movements on various bills related to pension reform. SB 1, sponsored by Senate President John Cullerton, as amended, is not the...
Image of a health care professional with white lab coat, blue scrubs and stethoscope
A downstate judge ruled Tuesday that health care for retired state workers is not constitutionally guaranteed. A long-standing benefit had allowed retirees with 20 or more years of service to retire with full health insurance coverage (for themselves, but not dependents) without paying premiums. A series of lawsuits filed in Sangamon County sought to preserve...
Symbol of the State of Illinois
In Springfield … The Illinois General Assembly has been busy with committee activities over the last two weeks. This week is the last week to get bills through committees in their house of origin. Higher Education-Related Legislation In the Senate Higher Education Committee, SB 2163 passed unanimously out of committee Tuesday, March 12. Sponsored by Sen....
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11