(The Center Square) – The Civic Federation has launched an Illinois State Pensions Dashboard that allows users to explore more than three decades of pension data across the state’s retirement systems.
As of June 30, 2024, Illinois’ five state-level retirement systems carried about $147 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, the gap between the benefits that have been promised to public employees and the assets set aside to pay for them.
FORMER CPS COO PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO PPP FRAUD
A former top Chicago Public Schools official has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that she ripped off two pandemic relief programs nearly three years after the school system found out she lied about her income to receive loans.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that former CPS chief operating officer Crystal Cooper was among at least 14 staffers who left their jobs in 2023 after the district’s inspector general uncovered falsified information on applications for federal Paycheck Protection Program loans.
Cooper is due in court Aug. 27.
ILLINOIS RANKS 13TH IN PERCENTAGE OF MILLIONAIRE HOUSEHOLDS
A new study says Illinois has 356,635 millionaire households. Shogo AI ranked 48 states based on both the percentage and total number of millionaire households. Illinois was 13th with 7.13% in seven figures.
New Jersey led the nation with 9.76% of households classified as millionaires. Maryland was next, followed by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Kentucky ranked 45th out of 48, with 4.69% of the population classified as millionaires.
Federal Reserve data shows millions of Americans have crossed the $1 million threshold in recent years, largely through property appreciation and investment portfolios.
EAST ST. LOUIS MAN PLEADS GUILTY AFTER SHOOTING OF HOMELESS MAN
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Missouri, a convicted felon from East St. Louis, Illinois has admitted to shooting a homeless man in October 2024.
Travion X. Cutler, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm when the shooting occurred in downtown St. Louis. Police said Cutler fired a single shot that struck the victim in the abdomen.
As a felon, Cutler is barred from possessing firearms. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 4.
