Pekin Daily Times | Dig deeper into pensions
Gary Heiser wrote a letter to the editor in the Pekin Daily Times featuring TUA’s three part series on the Illinois pension problem. To the editor: The editorial on pension reform was informative, but it did not go far enough into the problem. The editorial needed to expose the obscene retirement packages that Illinois taxpayers [...]
Chicago Tribune | Family campfires may burn again in Cook forest preserves
Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United for America, is quoted in the following story from the Chicago Tribune. This month, for the first time in their lives, some 10- and 11-year-old Cub Scouts from Chicago built a fire, pitched tents and slept under the stars. The kids discovered the great outdoors in a small patch [...]
Peoria Journal Star | Report details high state pensions for police
The Peoria Journal Star featured TUA’s release on Illinois state troopers and corrections officers who are pension millionaires. GERMANTOWN HILLS —A recently retired captain of District 8 of the Illinois State Police and the current director of the region’s covert drug enforcement group each receive among the highest state pensions. According to a report released [...]
WGN 9 Chicago | Emanuel speed camera ordinance passes City Council committee
Christina Tobin, TUA’s Vice President, was featured in a story from WGN 9 Chicago for her testimony against Chicago’s speed-camera ordinance. To see the video, click on the image below. CHICAGO—Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan for speed cameras near Chicago schools and parks passed in a City Council committee late Wednesday. Emanuel offered a revised ordinance [...]
The Telegraph | Teachers get lesson on retirement system
The Telegraph featured TUA’s release on pension millionaires within the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System. GODFREY – Retired educators got to vent Tuesday and question the head of Illinois’ Teachers’ Retirement System about the future of their benefits during a public meeting at Alton High School. “We’re in an awful place; it is unfair for us [...]
ABC 7 Chicago | Emanuel changes speed-cameras plan before vote
Christina Tobin, TUA’s Vice President, was featured in a story from ABC 7 Chicago for her testimony against Chicago’s speed-camera ordinance. To see the video, click on the image below. April 11, 2012 (CHICAGO) (WLS) – Hours before a city council committee was expected to vote on Rahm Emanuel’s controversial plan for speed cameras Wednesday, [...]
Telemundo Chicago | Cobran fuerza las “cámaras de velocidad”
Christina Tobin, TUA’s Vice President, was featured in a story from Telemundo Chicago for her testimony against Chicago’s speed-camera ordinance. To see the video, click on the image below. Una propuesta para instalar 300 camaras destinadas a medir la velocidad cerca de escuelas y parques alrededor de la ciudad, cobro fuerza hoy en el comite [...]
Daily Herald | Voters back tax hikes with tangible results
TUA’s defeat of 7 tax-increasing referenda was mentioned at the end of the following article by the Daily Herald. Despite a tender economy, a healthy majority of voters in Libertyville and Kildeer felt paying more out of pocket would be worth the investment in terms of better roads. And though nearly an even split, voters [...]
bcrnews.com | Go to the polls
The following commentary by Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United for America, is featured at bcrnews.com. The subject of the commentary is a ballot measure in the city of Princeton, Illinois, on “unlimited home rule taxing power”. As president of Taxpayers United of America (TUA), I am urging voters in the city of Princeton, Illinois, [...]
Daily Herald | Suburbs getting more property taxes
Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United for America, is quoted in the following story from the Daily Herald. At a time when property values have gone down considerably, many suburbs have sharply increased how much they’re receiving in property taxes. More than two dozen towns throughout the suburbs have raised property taxes by more than [...]
WREX 13 NBC | College Illinois! could get shot of taxpayer cash
Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United for America, is quoted in the following story from WREX 13 NBC. By Andrew Thomason | Illinois Statehouse News SPRINGFIELD — Illinois’ distressed prepaid tuition program could receive a cash infusion from taxpayers, even though it is not backed by the state. State Rep. Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, is [...]
CBS 2 Chicago | Some University Employees Double Dipping For State Paychecks
Christina Tobin, Vice-President of TUA, was featured in the following news story from CBS 2 Chicago. CHICAGO (CBS) – Some public university employees have figured out a way to keep their jobs and double their salaries. CBS 2′s Dave Savini has been investigating this lucrative, yet legal, sweetheart deal involving government pensions. One beneficiary of [...]
Belleville News Democrat | Who should pay for teacher pensions?
Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United for America, is quoted in the following article by the Belleville News Democrat. SPRINGFIELD — State legislators from the metro-east say they’re open to the idea of shifting some of the state’s costs for teacher pensions to local school districts, but they aren’t fully embracing the idea just yet. [...]
examiner.com | Taxpayer watchdog sues Riverside Brookfield
The following article from examiner.com features TUA’s lawsuit against the Riverside-Brookfield school board. January 24, 2012. Chicago. The taxpayer watchdog group Taxpayers United of America filed suit yesterday in Cook County Circuit Court against the Riverside-Brookfield, Illinois school board. The lawsuit claims that Riverside-Brookfield administrators used money from taxpayer coffers to fund a PR campaign [...]
CLTV | Politics Tonight featuring Andrew Spiegel and Rae Ann McNeilly
Legal Counsel Andrew Spiegel and Director of Outreach Rae Ann McNeilly discussed TUA’s lawsuit against the Illinois Tollway on CLTV’s Politics Tonight. Click on the image below to view the video.
ABC 7 | Big Ill. Tollway fare hike takes effect Jan. 1
The following news item from ABC 7 features TUA’s lawsuit against the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. December 20, 2011 (CHICAGO) (WLS) — A judge allowed the tollway authority to go ahead with a massive hike in fees Tuesday. On January 1, 2012, the average Illinois Tollway fare will nearly double. These days most drivers [...]
Chicago Tribue | Judge rejects bid to block toll hike
The following article in the Chicago Tribune features TUA’s lawsuit against the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. December 21, 2011|By Richard Wronski, Chicago Tribune reporter A Cook County judge on Tuesday rejected an attempt to block the near-doubling of tolls scheduled to take effect Jan. 1 on Illinois tollways. Judge Rita Novak dismissed a lawsuit [...]
examiner.com | Lisa Madigan wins her Toll Tax increase
The following article in the examiner.com features TUA’s lawsuit against the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. December 21, 2011. Chicago. Technically, it’s not a tax. The money the people of Illinois pay to use their own highways is actually a user fee. If it were truly a tax, the citizens’ representatives would have had to [...]
NBC 5 | Judge Dismisses Plea to Stop Toll Hike
The following article on NBC 5 features TUA’s lawsuit against the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. A circuit court judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit challenging an impending Illinois Tollway hike. The Tollway’s board voted to approve the hike in August to help pay for a $12.1 billion, 15-year overhaul of the roadway. Effective Jan. [...]
WSBC 1240 AM | The Ray Hanania Radio Show featuring Christina Tobin
Christina Tobin, Vice-President of Taxpayers United for America, appeared on The Ray Hanania Radio Show at WSBC 1240 AM to discuss TUA’s lawsuit to stop the Illinois toll tax. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]
Fox News Channel | Chicago Teachers Receiving Big Pension Payouts?
Christina Tobin, Vice President of Taxpayers United for America, appeared on Fox & Friends to discuss Chicago’s public pension payouts. Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com
McHenry County Blog | Tobin Says Traffic Speed Cameras to Protect City Pensions, Not Children, Roll Call
The following post at McHenry County Blog features TUA’s commentary on Chicago’s proposed traffic speed cameras. October 27, 2011 A press release from Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United of America: PROPOSED CHICAGO TRAFFIC SPEED CAMERAS TO PROTECT GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE PENSIONS, NOT CHILDREN Chicago–The plan by the City of Chicago to install automated speed cameras [...]
CBS Chicago | State Senate OKs Speed Cameras For Chicago
Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United for America, was interviewed by WBBM Newsradio’s John Cody for the following CBS Chicago article. CHICAGO (CBS) — You might not know it yet, but coming soon to a street corner near you could be traffic speed traps – maybe a lot more of them than Mayor Rahm Emanuel [...]
Daily Chronicle | Broken Benefits: Higher ed, higher pensions
Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United for America, is quoted in the following article by the Daily Chronicle. By NICOLE WESKERNA – nweskerna@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Joel Milner said he hasn’t gotten any special deals. As a retired psychology professor at Northern Illinois University, Milner pulls in an annual pension of $253,782 a year from a [...]
