FREE
1 • Thursday, March 15, 2018 - The Independent
Addison
Independent
VOL. 15 • NO. 12
March 17 & 18 10am-3pm
11th Annual
Antique Quilts Quilter’s Barn Sale 16W680 Grand Ave. , Bens
enville
$4 adults ages 18+ $1 ages 5-17 Pay at the door
For more information vis it bensenvilleparkdistrict.o rg
WWW.THEINDEPENDENTNEWSPAPERS.COM
309651
TAKE ONE
THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2018
Rauner plan could shift state’s teacher pension costs to local schools Gov. Bruce Rauner calls his plan to shift public retiree costs to local schools and colleges good governance, but the majority of state House members say otherwise, in their pledge not to support it. Rauner spoke to a group of business owners about his budget proposal last week. Part of the governor’s plan is to gradually shift the state’s pension costs to local schools and universities, claiming it would give schools an incentive to insist on sustainable benefits for employees. “You want to put responsibility for paying pensions in line with the folks who determine who gets the pension benefits and at what level, so it’s actually good policy to do that,” Rauner said. “Democrats and Republicans have both agreed that it’s the right policy to do.” The plan did bring both parties together – but not as Rauner had hoped. State Rep. David McSweeney’s resolution opposing Rauner’s plan has 66 co-sponsors. “It would result in a massive property tax increase,” he said. “The only thing the governor’s doing is shifting the liabilities to local governments so they will be forced to raise property taxes.” State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit (D-Oswego) calls the plan bad policy. “Shifting billions of dollars of additional costs to our school districts would, in effect, be a property tax increase and an unfunded mandate,” she said. Rauner said he’s proposing $350 million in additional school funding for fiscal 2019, saying that would cover the higher costs. The money he’s referring to is tied to school funding reform legislation he signed into law last year. Higher education officials panned
the plan last week, saying it would lead to tuition hikes. House Speaker Michael Madigan proposed a similar plan to shift pension costs to local schools in 2012, which met with a great deal of opposition throughout the state of Illinois.
Local pensions draining municipalities’ share of property taxes; no relief from state in sight Municipalities across the state are feeling the pension pinch. In fact, some are seeing most, if not all, of their share of property taxes going to police and fire pensions and there’s not much relief expected from the state. With a growing local pension problem eating up the city’s share of property taxes and then some, Springfield Alderman Joe McMenamin noted that a growing number of retired city employees are getting pensions of more than $100,000 a year. Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder blasted state lawmakers last month for tying cities’ hands on local pensions. “Those are decided at the capitol,” he said. “That’s the unfunded mandate that we have to pay for.” Other municipalities are in tight situations as well. Mattoon’s proposed budget is $1.3 million upside down. Of that deficit, $900,000 is attributed to growing pension and employee healthcare costs. Macomb’s city administrator said growing public pension costs have created budget deficits and it’s only getting worse. Illinois Municipal League Executive Director Brad Cole said what makes it worse is the state reducing shared revenue with local governments. “So at the same time, while we’re paying more, we’re seeing less mon-
Inside:
Police Reports...........4 Sports ����������������������7 Worship Services....10 Classifieds..........13-14
ey coming in and that’s where the real rub goes the wrong way for municipalities,” Cole said. Cole said one of the major proposals the IML is pushing is to consolidate the more than 600 police and fire pension funds into one for greater economy of scale and lower
administrative fees. State Sen. Tim Bivins (R-Dixon) said there aren’t many options at the statehouse for the local pension problems. The state Supreme Court has ruled the constitution doesn’t allow for pension benefits to be diminished.
Credit ratings agency S&P said the combined unfunded liability of the state’s 600-plus single-employer municipal police and fire pension plans is more than $9.9 billion. That figure means more budget deficits, tax hikes and can results in weaker credit quality over time.
SUBMITTED PHOTO Addison Independent
Musical magic on the xylophone
These Stone School students perform on Orff xylophones, a new addition to their instrumental music curriculum, thanks to a grant from the JCS Fund of the DuPage Foundation for School District 4. Learning various instruments not only increases the students’ musical knowledge but also the ability to work together in groups. Full story and more photos inside this issue.
A
UTO DVANTAGE
CAR CARE CENTER FULL SERVICE AUTOMOTIVE Across From Dapper’s Restaurant
Addison • 885 W. Lake St. (1-1/2 mile East of Route 53)
272551
ILLINOIS NEWS NETWORK
630-543-1397 Mon.-Fri. 8-6 • Sat. 8-3
We will BEAT any competitors written estimate by 10% plus FREE Oil Change Ask manager for details.
Why go anywhere else when you can SAVE MORE MONEY at Auto Advantage.
Oil Change Special Includes Lube and New Filter nly wO No
19.95
$
WOW!
Most passenger vehicles. Up to 5 quarts SW30 premium motor oil, lube and new filter.
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID ROCK VALLEY PUBLISHING LLC