Illinois closer to comprehensive pension reform than ever

SPRINGFIELD - May 9, 2013. Lt. Governor Sheila Simon today issued the following statement regarding the Senate's 40-16 passage of pension reform legislation.

"This year members of the General Assembly have demonstrated a commitment to tackling the state's overwhelming pension deficit. Today we, as a state, are closer to pension reform than ever before.

"I thank Senate President Cullerton for bringing unions and other important parties to the table to negotiate legislation that gives retirees the ability to have a voice in their pensions.

"I appreciate the leadership of both President Cullerton and Speaker Madigan as they continue to work on this important issue. I appreciate the courage of members of the House and Senate who have voted in support of pension reform."

CHICAGO - Lt. Governor Sheila Simon will give the commencement address on Friday for the City Colleges of Chicago Class of 2013. Nearly 4,000 students are expected to earn an associate's degree this year - the largest number in more than 20 years.

Simon will highlight the accomplishments of seven graduates who overcame obstacles to earn associate degrees that link them to in-demand jobs or bachelor's degree programs. Her featured students include a teenage mother turned valedictorian, a high school dropout turned Field Museum biologist, and an undocumented immigrant who learned Braille and English en route to a degree.

"Just as the City College system is reinventing itself, its graduates are reinventing themselves and making a difference in our communities," Simon said.  

In her first year in office, Simon visited each of the state's 48 community colleges in an effort to increase the proportion of adults with a college credential to 60 percent, up from the current 41 percent, by 2025.

DATE: Friday, May 3

TIME: 4 p.m.

PLACE: UIC Pavilion, 525 S. Racine Ave., Chicago

CHICAGO - May 1, 2013. With a month left before the General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn, Lt. Governor Sheila Simon today urged lawmakers to pass ethics reform legislation that she drafted with government watchdog groups. Senate Bill 1361, sponsored by Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge), is currently awaiting Senate passage.

"In these remaining weeks of session, members of the legislature are continuing to address a number of important challenges; however, they cannot allow ethics reform to fall to the wayside," Simon said during a public policy luncheon at the City Club of Chicago. "I thank Sen. Kotowski for his leadership on this important transparency bill, and I look forward to continuing to work with his colleagues to send this legislation to the House."

SB 1361 proposes a revised disclosure form, known as a Statement of Economic Interests, which must be filed with the secretary of state's office or postmarked annually by May 1. The revised form would require filers to list outside sources of income, lobbyist relationships and loans made or accepted on terms not available to the general public, for the first time. It also closes loopholes that allowed filers to answer "not applicable" to almost all of the questions on the current version of the form introduced 40 years ago.

Simon said the goal of the new form is to help Illinois residents determine if elected officials, high-ranking employees and candidates have conflicts of interest. The new form will also be easier for filers to complete thanks to the plain-language questions, definitions of terms and clear connections to information found on tax returns and investment statements.

"Residents of Illinois should not have to wait any longer to find out whether their elected officials are working in the public's interest or their own self interest," Simon said. "I urge lawmakers to do the right thing by sending this legislation to the governor's desk."

The Illinois Constitution and Illinois Governmental Ethics Act require elected officials, high-ranking government employees, and political candidates to complete a Statement of Economic Interests each May. State government workers file with the Secretary of State, while workers for local units of government file with their county clerk. The forms are supposed to expose existing or potential conflicts of interest, but the documents use such vague and cumbersome language that the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform has called them "woefully inadequate" and "a waste of paper."

Last month, Simon and members of her senior staff released an annual financial disclosure form that goes above and beyond what is required in the state's Statement of Economic Interests. Simon's staff form is modeled after those used by federal officers and notes income greater than $200, investments and debts.

This is the third year that Simon and her staff have released their detailed financial statements. Find the documents here.

Illinois families have until April 30 to apply for prepaid tuition

CARBONDALE - April 24, 2013. To combat the rising costs of higher education, Lt. Governor Sheila Simon today encouraged Illinois families to apply for the College Illinois! Prepaid Tuition Program before next week's April 30 deadline for the current enrollment period.

"Planning for college entails more than academic preparation," said Simon, the state's point person on education reform. "Families should also have a long-term strategic plan for how to pay for tuition and fees in the future."

In her first year in office, Simon toured all of the state's 48 community colleges to push for reforms that will help students earn college degrees or certificates that translate to good-paying jobs. During her second year as Lt. Governor, Simon convened College Affordability Summits at each of the state's 12 public universities and called for cost transparency, targeted state assistance and federal tax breaks to control college costs. In a white paper released earlier this year, Simon cited college affordability as a "significant barrier to students seeking degree at public universities."

Illinois supports students and families through a variety of non-loan assistance, including the Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant for low-income residents and the College Illinois! Prepaid tuition program for all residents. College Illinois! allows families to lock in a lower price today to cover the expense of future tuition and fees. Program officials project that tuition and fees for a child born today could be as much as $180,000 to attend an Illinois four-year public university.

"With ever rising costs of higher education, College Illinois! offers parents a great opportunity to plan ahead and make college more affordable for their kids," said Eric Zarnikow, executive director of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which administers the program. "We're urging parents to seize the day and sign up for College Illinois!, or talk to one of our advisers now, before the enrollment period closes."

Simon noted that Illinois residents have access to several state tax-advantaged programs that make it easy to start saving today. The College Illinois! Prepaid Tuition Program has assisted nearly 22,000 families and has paid over $400 million in tuition and fees to nearly 950 state and out-of-state postsecondary institutions, including community colleges, public universities and private schools. Since the program's start in 1997, over 70,000 prepaid tuition contracts have been purchased by Illinois residents.

College Illinois! offers various plans which let purchasers choose a pricing option that best fits their financial needs. For additional information about the College Illinois! Prepaid Tuition Program, please visit www.prepayandsave.org, www.529prepaidtuition.org, or call 877-877-3724.

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