This story was featured
by NBC Peoria and CBS Peoria. Click the
links to view their coverage.
View as PDF
Peoria, IL – Taxpayer
Education Foundation (TEF) today released its updated study on Peoria municipal
and county government pensions, including the top 200 pensions in the Teachers
Retirement System (TRS), Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), and the State
University Retirement System (SURS). TUA issued the following statement based
on the TEF pension study:
“Peoria City bureaucrats
showed their contempt for taxpayers by finding creative ways to increase
property taxes,” said Jim Tobin, TUA president. “Peoria now has a ‘public
pension safety fee.’ Every little shed on homeowners’ property now costs $50 a
year. And if you have a building larger than 5,000 square feet, you must pay an
additional $300 a year. This is on top of the already high 2.5% effective
property tax rate on their homes.”
“Of this property tax
increase, 100% of the revenue, estimated at $2.2 million the first year, is
earmarked for IMRF pensions. This ‘fee’ will increase regularly now that it’s
in place.”
“The IMRF pension fund, which gives lavish, gold-plated pension benefits to retired municipal employees, is funded by property taxes. $903 million in property taxes have been shoveled into this fund to keep it afloat.”
“The IMRF pension fund,
like the other government pension funds, is a Pyramid Scheme that cannot be
sustained as more and more people leave the Peoria area for lower tax
communities. Peoria has already eliminated 22 firefighter positions and 16
police positions.”
“Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis
recently stated that over 95% of all property taxes are poured into the city’s
local pension funds.”
· Click Here to see the top 200 Peoria area TRS
pensions
· Click Here to see the
top 200 Peoria area municipal, and Peoria County IMRF pensions
· Click Here to see the
top Illinois Central College SURS pensions
“The entire local and
statewide pension system in Illinois is unsustainable. The other five statewide
pension funds are funded by the state income tax. Democrat Governor Jay Robert
‘J. B.’ Pritzker and his tax-raising cronies want to stick it to middle class
taxpayers by increasing the income tax under the guise of a ‘more fair’
graduated income tax, so they can make it through the next election cycle. When
the state goes under, they will be enjoying their retirements in Arizona or
Florida.”
“Middle-class Peoria
taxpayers would be decimated by the Pritzker income-tax hike if it passes.
There is nothing fair about his ‘fair tax’ that will, by design, siphon even
more wealth out of the pockets of the middle-class. Pritzker’s tax increases
won’t stop there as we’ve seen with the gargantuan gasoline tax increase.”
“When you look at what
the individual government retirees are actually collecting in taxpayer funded
pensions, you can get a better idea of why this theft of taxpayer wealth is so
egregious. Keep in mind that the average taxpayer will collect only about
$17,500 a year from Social Security, and that most IMRF pensioners are also
eligible for a Social Security pension.”
Francis Hinton retired
from Peoria SD 150. His current annual TRS pension is $ 217,419. His estimated
lifetime payout is a lucrative $4,809,603.
Kevin W. Lyons retired
from Peoria County at the age of 55. His current IMRF pension is $147,760 and
will accumulate to about $3,961,654 over a normal lifetime. Kevin is also
eligible for a social security pension.
Illinois Central College
retiree, Thomas Thomas collects $225,070 in annual pension payments. His
payments into SURS total $148,054. He will collect, over a normal lifetime,
$4,895,542.
“All Illinois government
new hires should be placed in a 401(k) style retirement savings account,
beginning immediately, and the retirement age should be increased to 65. These
measures would at least stop the bleeding until comprehensive pension reform
can be enacted.”
This story was featured
by NBC Peoria and CBS Peoria. Click the
links to view their coverage.
View as PDF
Peoria, IL – Taxpayer
Education Foundation (TEF) today released its updated study on Peoria municipal
and county government pensions, including the top 200 pensions in the Teachers
Retirement System (TRS), Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), and the
State University Retirement System (SURS). TUA issued the following statement
based on the TEF pension study:
“Peoria City bureaucrats
showed their contempt for taxpayers by finding creative ways to increase
property taxes,” said Jim Tobin, TUA president. “Peoria now has a ‘public
pension safety fee.’ Every little shed on homeowners’ property now costs $50 a
year. And if you have a building larger than 5,000 square feet, you must pay an
additional $300 a year. This is on top of the already high 2.5% effective
property tax rate on their homes.”
“Of this property tax
increase, 100% of the revenue, estimated at $2.2 million the first year, is
earmarked for IMRF pensions. This ‘fee’ will increase regularly now that it’s
in place.”
“The IMRF pension fund,
which gives lavish, gold-plated pension benefits to retired municipal
employees, is funded by property taxes. $903 million in property taxes
have been shoveled into
this fund to keep it afloat.”
“The IMRF pension fund,
like the other government pension funds, is a Pyramid Scheme that cannot be sustained
as more and more people leave the Peoria area for lower tax communities. Peoria
has already eliminated 22 firefighter positions and 16 police positions.”
“Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis
recently stated that over 95% of all property taxes are poured into the city’s
local pension funds.”
· Click Here to see the top 200 Peoria area TRS
pensions
· Click Here to see the
top 200 Peoria area municipal, and Peoria County IMRF pensions
· Click Here to see the
top Illinois Central College SURS pensions
“The entire local and
statewide pension system in Illinois is unsustainable. The other five statewide
pension funds are funded by the state income tax. Democrat Governor Jay Robert
‘J. B.’ Pritzker and his tax-raising cronies want to stick it to middle class
taxpayers by increasing the income tax under the guise of a ‘more fair’
graduated income tax, so they can make it through the next election cycle. When
the state goes under, they will be enjoying their retirements in Arizona or
Florida.”
“Middle-class Peoria
taxpayers would be decimated by the Pritzker income-tax hike if it passes.
There is nothing fair about his ‘fair tax’ that will, by design, siphon even
more wealth out of the pockets of the middle-class. Pritzker’s tax increases
won’t stop there as we’ve seen with the gargantuan gasoline tax increase.”
“When you look at what
the individual government retirees are actually collecting in taxpayer funded
pensions, you can get a better idea of why this theft of taxpayer wealth is so
egregious. Keep in mind that the average taxpayer will collect only about
$17,500 a year from Social Security, and that most IMRF pensioners are also
eligible for a Social Security pension.”
Francis Hinton retired
from Peoria SD 150. His current annual TRS pension is $ 217,419. His estimated
lifetime payout is a lucrative $4,809,603.
Kevin W. Lyons retired
from Peoria County at the age of 55. His current IMRF pension is $147,760 and
will accumulate to about $3,961,654 over a normal lifetime. Kevin is also eligible
for a social security pension.
Illinois Central College
retiree, Thomas Thomas collects $225,070 in annual pension payments. His
payments into SURS total $148,054. He will collect, over a normal lifetime,
$4,895,542.
“All Illinois government
new hires should be placed in a 401(k) style retirement savings account,
beginning immediately, and the retirement age should be increased to 65. These
measures would at least stop the bleeding until comprehensive pension reform
can be enacted.”
