Articles filed under On Guard

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District's tab for weekend in Chicago: $13,756Jan 30, 2013 12:00 AM
Taxpayers in Fox Lake Elementary District 114 paid for movies, a limo ride and nearly $1,600 in parking fees that were part of a $13,756.20 tab racked up by school board members and administrators at a conference in Chicago nearly three months ago. “The days are filled, so it's not like we're going down there and goofing around,” said Superintendent John Donnellan. “Do I think they abuse it? No.”
Conviction for molesting girl doesn't stop retired Round Lake Beach cop's pensionJan 20, 2013 12:00 AM
Round Lake Beach taxpayers continue to provide a pension for retired police officer Leroy Kuffel, who was convicted of molesting a 16-year-old girl and is on a law-enforcement agency's sex-offender registry. Mayor Richard Hill said the village has determined it can't halt Kuffel's pension. “We don't want to exhaust any more (village) funds,” he said of fighting the pension.
What would teacher pension shift do to your taxes?Jan 16, 2013 12:00 AM
How much would it cost average suburban homeowners to have the state's pension obligations for teachers shifted to them? It turns out, about $160 more a year, an analysis shows.
Which suburbs levy highest taxes per person?Jan 9, 2013 12:00 AM
For each of its 4,209 residents, tony Barrington Hills collected nearly $1,618 in property taxes in 2010. On the other end of the spectrum, Prospect Heights collected a little more than $16 in property taxes for each of the city's 16,256 residents. Among 83 suburbs spread throughout six counties, Barrington Hills has the highest per capita property tax collection of any of the suburbs. Where does your town fall?
Kildeer District 96's $4,281 board meeting with $7 sodas Dec 26, 2012 12:00 AM
The $350 officials from Kildeer Countryside District 96 spent on the meeting room at Chicago's InterContinental Hotel would be one of the cheapest expenditures for the school board's Nov. 16 meeting. Taxpayers living in the Buffalo Grove-based school district also covered $988 for 26 continental breakfasts, $1,638 for 26 lunches, $72 for nine bottles of iced tea and $392 for 2½ cases of soda. That's $7 per soda.
Property tax burden grows for homeownersDec 19, 2012 12:00 AM
Illinois homeowners are shouldering more of the property tax burden than ever before. Meanwhile, the share of property taxes paid by commercial and industrial property owners shrank. Much of the increase is fueled by shifts in Cook and DuPage counties, where the proportion paid by homeowners increased 11.3 and 4.6 percentage points, respectively, from 2001 to 2010.
Suburban mayors accuse agency of mismanagement, nepotismDec 5, 2012 12:00 AM
The Illinois Municipal League was formed as a way for towns across the state to stand as one on legislative and other issues that affect them. Now, however, the group itself is divided, with several suburban mayors claiming mismanagement of the taxpayer-supported organization and calling for the jobs of agency leaders.
Local property tax levies up $3.5 billion since '05Nov 21, 2012 12:00 AM
Property tax levies in the suburbs and Chicago collectively increased by almost $3.5 billion in 2010 compared to just five years earlier, Suburban Tax Watchdog Jake Griffin writes. Much of that was in school districts in the six suburban counties and Chicago, which levied $2.2 billion more in 2010 than they received in 2005.
Change after the chaos in Kane coroner's officeNov 19, 2012 12:00 AM
Documents from the Kane County sheriff's office's criminal investigation into former Coroner Chuck West paint a picture of a divided, unproductive office bordering on chaos in summer 2010 as he sought to find out who contacted authorities about allegations of criminal wrongdoing. Now, “(the office) has a whole different feel to it,” said Kane board member Mark Davoust.
Pension loophole could mean $500,000 more for ex-Grayslake copNov 14, 2012 12:00 AM
A loophole in the state's police pension law could cost Grayslake taxpayers an extra $500,000 over the next 20 years that would benefit just a single former police sergeant. Former Grayslake Police Sgt. Conrad Gutraj is entitled to not just one annual 3 percent cost-of-living pension increase, but two, a Lake County judge has ruled.
Retired Naperville police chief gets $50,000 for 3 months workNov 9, 2012 12:00 AM
Five days after retiring as Naperville police chief, David Dial quietly returned to the city payroll as a consultant to help the department he just left. He was paid about $47,000 in wages and benefits for three months before leaving for his new job at Aurora University, according to his contract, which was obtained this week by the Daily Herald through a Freedom of Information request.
Taxpayers to cover big OT costs for Dec. 24 election filing snafuOct 31, 2012 12:00 AM
What’s worse than a lump of coal in your stocking? Perhaps working Christmas Eve at an otherwise closed local government office all because of a quirk in the state’s election law that could cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. “It’s a big concern because of the cost of keeping these places open, especially places where they’re already cutting costs,” said state Rep. Fred Crespo.
Illinois legislative paychecks add up to $15 million Oct 24, 2012 12:00 AM
Illinois taxpayers spent nearly $15 million on salaries, stipends, allowances and mileage reimbursements for 214 current and former legislators last year for 77 days in session. Party leaders made the most thanks to stipends that also help increase the legislators' pensions. "What are we getting for it?” asked David From, Illinois state director of Americans for Prosperity.
Sears regularly gets multimillion-dollar property tax cutsOct 21, 2012 12:00 AM
Last year, after an extended and highly public battle, including mass protests by supporters of Community Unit District 300, Sears Holdings Corp. won state approval of millions of dollars in tax breaks for its Hoffman Estates headquarters. Much more quietly, Sears in recent years also has won millions in property tax breaks through the complex, multilayered Cook County property assessment appeals system.
Watchdog: Staff cuts don't translate to pension savingsOct 17, 2012 12:00 AM
Doing more with less has been the mantra of most government agencies since the economy soured in 2008. But an analysis of 80 suburbs shows that while they combined to shed 708 jobs, the cost of providing retirement benefits to the remaining employees has increased more than $7.7 million from 2009 to 2011.
How much money does your town (and therefore you) owe? Oct 3, 2012 12:00 AM
A Daily Herald analysis shows 72 suburbs across six counties owe nearly $4 billion combined. Another six suburbs have no debt, according to the most recent financial audits of those towns. “You want to examine if debt is growing faster than (property) values and if we’re putting a greater burden on future years,” said Laurence Msall, president of The Civic Federation.
Why suburban water rates are skyrocketing Sep 26, 2012 12:00 AM
Some suburban residents are paying hundreds of dollars more this year for water than they did last year, thanks to a combination of rate increases. And in many towns, there are more rate increases to come. “We were concerned that we were not keeping up with what the true costs were,” Winfield Village Manager Curt Barrett said, for example.
Stipends for county officials cost state $3.4 million Sep 19, 2012 12:00 AM
It's hard to find anyone who supports a state program that pays some 500-plus county officials $6,500 stipends each year just for holding elected posts. Except those who receive the stipend, that is. But even among that group, support is waning. "I think they'll be taken away," said Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas, one of the recipients.
Township assessors get $3,000 bonus for doing job right Sep 12, 2012 12:00 AM
Nearly 900 township assessors and county assessment officials in Illinois are eligible for a $3,000 yearly bonus — just for doing their jobs right. The "performance stipend" costs taxpayers upward of $650,000 a year in a state that's so broke it's at least $5.8 billion behind in paying its bills. "I think that's something that's going to be phased out," said state Rep. Ed Sullivan, a Mundelein Republican who is also assessor in Lake County's Fremont Township and who has not received the bonus in any of the last three years.
Officials in 31 suburban townships get automatic raisesAug 29, 2012 12:00 AM
While most American workers have spent the past four years getting by with stagnating wages, or making even less than in years before, a segment of government employees is doing just fine. Elected officials in 31 suburban townships combined to make $661,387 more this year than they did in 2009. In many cases, they gave themselves the raises -- and they're getting ready to do it again.