DECATUR-- As we near November, the teacher pension issue has yet to be solved. The most popular idea in order to correct teacher pensions is that the costs should be shifted to central and downstate Illinois; an idea that State Representative Chapin Rose says could be disastrous for the taxpayer…
“What the speaker and the senate president and the governor want to do is downshift that unfunded pension liability onto local property tax payers and local school districts which means they have to raise property taxes, layoff teachers or increase classroom sizes… any way you go, it’s not good.”
The numbers compiled by Rose show that the pension cost=shift plan would add $700 million to local school budgets and property tax bills. Rose says lawmakers in Chicago and Springfield need to keep the taxpayers in the rest of the state in mind when they make decisions.
Decatur Mayor and State Senate candidate Mike McElroy seconded Rose's opinion, that shifting costs to the taxpayers is irresponsibile. McElroy says that just because there was fraud and corruption going on in Chicago and Springfield, the taxpayers shouldn't have to bear the extra weight of their mistakes...
“To just arbitrarily now because we overspent or we had people stealing, or we had all these other things happen in the state of Illinois that now you’re going to have to pay more. As the mayor, we will follow this very, very closely.”
McElroy says that in the 10 years he has been involved with City Council, one of their main goals has been to keep the property tax rate steady. The pension cost-shift plan would add $700 million to local school budgets and also increase property tax bills.
