Author: joeward7

The Illinois Times
Chris Britt cartoon on Springfield Pension Crisis

The Illinois Times

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

The Springfield City Council voted 6-3 Tuesday to set a minimum amount for the city’s fund balance in hopes that a credit-rating agency would look kindly on the act.

Last year, Moody’s Investors Service knocked down the city’s general fund credit rating two notches, though it is still four notches higher than “junk bond” status. Mayor Jim Langfelder informed aldermen the city had its annual

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

The Springfield City Council voted Wednesday to discuss local developers’ concerns and their suggested amendments to the 2017-2037 comprehensive plan on land use at their Jan. 9 Committee of the Whole meeting.

A vote to approve the plan was postponed to the full council meeting on Jan. 16 after the Development Policy Council — a group of developers, Realtors and engineers organized by the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce — lobbied aldermen individually to give the group more time to

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

After lobbying by developers, the Springfield City Council voted Tuesday to delay final approval for the city’s 2017-2037 comprehensive plan on land use to Jan. 16. Nine aldermen voted in favor of postponing the plan’s final passage; Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin voted “present.”

In a series of meetings over the last two weeks, the mayor and aldermen were lobbied individually by the Development Policy Council, a group of developers, Realtors and engineers organized through the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, to not take a vote Tuesday to give them more time to

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

In a series of meetings over the last two weeks, a group of developers, engineers and Realtors have lobbied Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder and aldermen to delay Tuesday’s scheduled vote on the city’s 2017-2037 comprehensive plan on land use. Members of the Development Policy Council, a group organized through the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, met with each alderman individually, which did not invoke the Open Meetings Act that requires the public be informed in advance about the meetings.

The policy council held its final meeting with the last of the 10 aldermen on Monday. The group tried to persuade Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin to

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

By the end of Tuesday’s Springfield City Council meeting, a packed room of residents who were divided on whether a new west-side subdivision should move forward did agree on one thing: Lenhart Road needs to be improved. Aldermen voted 8-2 to approve three ordinances that would allow Centennial Pointe, a 50-duplex subdivision located along Lenhart Road near Centennial Park, to be built.

Residents from the area lobbied aldermen to postpone approval of the subdivision until the adjacent roads were in better condition to handle more

Staff Report
The State Journal-Register

The Illinois attorney general’s office said Tuesday that eight Springfield aldermen did not violate the state’s Open Meetings Act when they gathered for a campaign fundraising event at a downtown restaurant two months ago.

The attorney general’s involvement in the issue began in October, when a reporter for WICS TV-20 asked the AG’s office to review whether the Sept. 27 non-public event at Saputo’s Restaurant dealt with city business. The Open Meetings Act requires that public bodies let the public know when and where they’re going to meet and that when a majority of a quorum gets together, members must

Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register

For the first time, Springfield will be spending more on its fire and police pension payments in the next budget year than it’s expected to collect in property taxes. The pension costs are predicted to exceed property taxes by $600,000, according to Bill McCarty, Office of Budget and Management director.

During last Tuesday’s Springfield City Council meeting, aldermen voted to keep property taxes at the same rate. But they acknowledged the growing pension costs could mean the city will have to cut services or raise taxes. Others also questioned whether the city’s financial assumptions

Wirepoints
Ted Dabrowski

In 2014, I presented to Springfield’s City Council the ominous findings of a pension report I had recently authored. The report warned of increasing stress on Springfield taxpayers due to rising local pension costs. It also warned of worsening work and retirement security for government workers as the local crisis deepened. Springfield ranked 112 out of 114 cities from across Illinois in terms of fiscal health due to pensions.

Springfield residents were already paying a price to make way for rising government worker pension costs. Three library branches had been shuttered and 20 employees cut. At least 24 sworn police officers had been laid off. And residents in neighborhoods with crumbling sidewalks and growing potholes had to wait longer for repairs – the city had 60 fewer public works positions then than it did in 2008.

Unfortunately, the response from local officials to the report wasn’t one of urgency. Instead,

Illinois Times
Bruce Rushton

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Proceedings began with a presentation by Fire Chief Barry Helmerichs, who proposed spending $105,000 on gadgets that will turn red lights green so that fire trucks can more quickly reach Piper Glen and Panther Creek, which were cornfields not so long ago and now are home to folks who live a considerable distance from the nearest firehouse. No one asked why the city