Dan Gott, the Republican candidate in the District 55 state House race, is calling for reforms to create a sustainable public pension system that's no longer in the red, yet still honors existing pension obligations.
Currently, Illinois’ government-worker pension system is the worst in the country, with a shortfall of over $111 billion. In other states, only 4 percent of the state budget goes toward pensions, while in Illinois, 19 percent of the budget goes toward paying for pensions.
Gott believes the system is rigged with political corruption and wants to reform it by bringing political outsiders into the state government in Illinois.
Dan Gott
| Contributed photo
A recent study by the Heartland Institute, a public policy think tank in Arlington Heights, put Illinois in a group of 10 states to receive an "F" in the public pensions’ category of the think tank’s "report card."
“(State Rep.) Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines) supports the rigged system by voting in agreement on bills handed down to him from (House Speaker Mike) Madigan (D-Chicago),” Gott said. “It’s no coincidence that they consistently vote 'yes' -- 'yes' on bills driving our state deeper into financial ruin.”
In addition to reforming the public pension system, Gott wants legislators to implement structural policy changes to entitlement programs, freeze property taxes and ensure that workers' compensation costs are competitive to keep and create jobs in Illinois.
“It’s time to end conflicts of interest and financial mismanagement,” Gott said.
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