Illinois State Senator Li Arellano (R-Dixon) wants the legislature to focus on paying down debt rather than increasing spending on services, as well as reforming property taxes.
“[T]ake a look at the enormous amounts of mandates we put on local governments, far more than the average state, and get rid of as many of them as we can,” State Senator Arellano said in a phone interview with WVIK on March 13th. “Because every time we tell a school district that they have to do something or have to pay for something, but we don't provide funding, which we can't because we're broke, their biggest lever is to raise property taxes. And that's true of any local government, cities, counties, or park districts. But the biggest impact on our property taxes is schools.”
Another way to alleviate property taxes, according to State Senator Arellano, is to pay down the state’s pension debt.
“We need to have a 5, 10, 20-year plan, where some portion of that ends up going into the school funding formula and is directly tied to property tax relief,” State Senator Arellano said. “Unfortunately, the first steps are to pay down pension debt, as I already mentioned. So that is a longer-term plan. So in the short term, mandate relief tied to property taxes. In the long term, pension debt paydown is tied to school funding and property tax relief. So the biggest impact would be the long-term stuff. But we got to start day zero. We've had too many generations of leaders who didn't want to do it. And if they had started 20 years ago, we'd already be there right now. So our job is to get it started.”
Arellano is co-sponsoring a bill, SB3404, by Chicago Democrat Senator Robert F. Martwick that would expand pension buyouts to Chicago employees and downstate police and firefighters.
“Which would allow some employees to leave a bit earlier if they want to move on to different careers or different life and take some of that money with them without giving it all up, but also allow local governments to get some savings, especially from tier one employees who want to do that,” Arellano said. “So it's a good balance, and it's optional for all parties. Cities don't have to do it, and employees don't have to do it. But whenever they choose to do it, you know, I think it helps move us in the right direction.”
The state has extended twice a 2018 program that already allows certain municipal employees to take pension buyouts. The law is set to sunset in June unless the legislature extends it again. According to the governor’s office, the program has reduced pension liabilities by nearly $3 billion.
In his State of the State address, Governor J.B. Pritzker asked the legislature to extend the program for another two years, saying it would reduce liabilities by an additional $1.4 billion.
In other topics mentioned in the address, State Senator Arellano supports Governor J.B. Pritzker’s efforts to tackle student phone use in schools.
“I'm a co-sponsor on that bill to get better guidance and help teachers get in charge of their classroom so they can actually teach,” Arellano said.
The bill, SB2427, would restrict cell phone usage during school hours unless it is tied to instructional activities and in case of an emergency. There is also a carve-out for students who have a physician's letter stating they need a device or for students who need electronics to help with translation.
The Republican from Dixon also supports ending gerrymandering by creating an independent commission to handle redistricting every decade.
“In Illinois, it means our areas lose out to Chicago more than they should, more than their population would dictate,” Arellano said. “And it also has accelerated the anger between Chicago and the rural areas, which is why you're seeing parts of our Iowa border wanting to leave to Iowa, parts of our Indiana border wanting to leave for Indiana, [and] down south to go into Missouri, it has just made governing so much harder and so much less ethical. So to me, that's the number one ethical reform we need in Illinois. And it's probably one of the top ones we need nationwide as well. But definitely in our state.”
State Senator Arellano’s full interview can be found attached to this story. The interview was recorded on Friday, March 13th.
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