Taxpayers of Golf SD 67 Win 3rd Battle Against Property Tax Increase

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Homeowners in Golf School District 67 overwhelmingly defeated a property-tax increase referendum on Tuesday, February 26, 2013. Taxpayers United of America (TUA) worked with local taxpayers, providing informational flyers and detailed information to assist in defeating this increase.
“We have helped homeowners defeat 194 property-tax increase referendums since 1977,” said Jim Tobin, TUA President.
“Homeowners in District 67 have defeated such a referendum at the ballot box twice already, but these greedy District 67 government teachers and district bureaucrats came back for a third try.”
“The average value of a home in Morton Grove is $347,800, so this referendum, had it passed, would have increased such a home’s annual real estate tax bill by about $327 – every year.”
The “No” vote was 614 or 66%, and the “Yes” vote was 314 or 34%.
TUA will be working with local taxpayers across Illinois to defeat other tax increase referenda that will appear on the April 9, 2013 ballot.
“Taxpayers are frustrated and angry over governments’ grab for their hard earned money, which funds the government employees’ lavish pay and benefits for jobs that have almost no risk and no consequence for poor performance. Taxpayers in Golf SD67 and across the state are suffering with falling home values, unemployment and increasing tax burdens at every level. It’s time the greedy government bureaucrats shared some of the financial burden,” concludes Tobin.

Chicago Police Sergeants Wise to Reform Pensions

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CHICAGO—The Chicago Police Sergeants’ Association is to be commended for its realistic appraisal of the crisis in state and local pensions, and for its sensible decision to embrace a pension-reform deal with the City of Chicago, according to the president of Taxpayers United of America (TUA).
“Other unions such as the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) are asking for ridiculous raises in this gloomy economy,” said Jim Tobin, TUA president. “For FOP President Mike Shields to ask for a 12% pay increase over two years from taxpayers in this economy is outrageous and insulting.”
“The state and local pension plans are going broke, and interim measures such as those accepted by the Sergeants union help.”
“Their pension-reform agreements are a big step in the right direction: Increasing retirement age; increasing employee pension contributions from 9% to 12%; eliminating cost-of-living (COLA) increases every other year and capping them; increasing health-care contributions for new retirees.”
“The unfunded obligations in state and local government-pension funds are so huge that you can’t tax your way to solvency. If the government unions want to receive any pensions, they will need to engage in serious negotiations with their employers, and will need to have their pensions restructured. If they don’t, they will find themselves without any pensions at all when the plans go broke.”

Cities 92.9 Newsroom | Complete Pension Overhaul on The Morning Rush

Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United for America, talked to Robert Rees, host of The Morning Rush on Cities Talk FM 92.9, to discuss TUA’s pension study on Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. To listen, click on the audio player below.
[audio:http://podcast.cities929.com/wrpw2/3858148.mp3|titles=Jim Tobin on Cities 92.9FM] talkfm92.9(CITIES 92.9 NEWSROOM)-Taxpayers United of America is an organization that tries to fight against tax increases and wasteful spending. President Jim Tobin will be at a news conference at 11am to announce the names and pensions of retired government workers in McLean County. The purpose, Tobin says, of these announcements is to highlight the huge gap between most Americans who work in the private sector and make far too little money and retire on nothing but under an $15,000 Social Security check and some government workers retire on a six figure pension with millions headed their way over their lifetime.
According to Tobin, Illinois is by far the worst when it comes to pensions and the system needs a drastic and COMPLETE overhaul. Employees contribute 10% more, healthcare contributions at 50%, raising the retirement age to 67 are among the many changes needed because Tobin says it’s impossible for us to tax our way out of this.