Author: joeward7

The State Journal-Register
Dan Petrella

Two Springfield aldermen took to the local airwaves Monday morning to defend their positions on the role of union money in local campaigns.

The flare-up began Thursday when Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, who speaks frequently about what he sees as the city’s need to rein in pay and benefits for workers, criticized fellow aldermen and Mayor Mike Houston for taking campaign contributions from unions that represent city employees.

Dan Petrella
The State Journal Register

After using last year’s “State of the City” address to push for a sales tax increase to pay for infrastructure upgrades, Springfield Mayor Mike Houston didn’t include any new policy proposals when he delivered this year’s speech Wednesday afternoon.

Instead, the mayor, speaking to a gathering of The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce at the Prairie Capital Convention Center, outlined the three-year, $86.6 million improvement program now underway and highlighted other ongoing projects. Those included the new Hy-Vee

Ted Dabrowski, Illinois Policy Institute

For decades Illinois politicians ignored the state’s mounting pension debt. Now, with a state crisis that’s reeling out of control, Illinoisans are experiencing what happens when politicians put their heads in the sand.
Unfortunately, Springfield residents now find themselves headed in the same direction, but at the local level.

The city’s pension shortfall has jumped to $315 million, more than double what it was a decade ago

Sunday’s editorial regarding the financial condition of Illinois municipal pensions, and Springfield’s in particular, was a disappointing response to Illinois Policy Institute’s research.

Some flaws are inevitable in a report as massive and comprehensive as what IPI produced, but the big picture painted by the report is accurate and inescapably alarming. Pension debt grows, municipal services shrink and taxes rise.

The ever-worsening financial erosion of Springfield’s local municipal pensions over time is irrefutable.

Dan Petrella
The SJ-R

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Pension report

The Illinois Policy Institute used Tuesday’s meeting to unveil its new report titled “The Crisis Hits Home: Illinois’ Local Pension Problem.” The group bills itself as a “nonpartisan research and education organization” but has received more than $500,000 from GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner over the past five years.

Dan Petrella
The State Journal Register

As of January, 81 restaurants, bars, veterans and fraternal organizations, and other establishments in the city of Springfield held video gaming licenses, according to the Springfield city clerk’s office. Altogether there were 349 licensed gaming terminals throughout the city. Each licensed establishment is allowed to have as many as five machines.

More than 20 other establishments with Springfield addresses have applications pending

A recent letter to the editor inquired about my “present” vote on an ordinance to issue $80 million in bonds for city infrastructure work. I want to explain that vote.

I strongly support properly budgeted infrastructure work. However, the $80 million bond ordinance would have approved “up to” $311,000 in bank fees that were never properly explained.

Prior to the vote, I asked the administration