Jim Slusher

Editorial: Get involved to put fairness in state balance of power

dailyherald.com — Your Community News & Weather loading... Article posted: 5/23/2013 5:00 AM Analysis of the 2011 legislative cartography that may have ensured a decade of virtual one-party rule in Illinois is an exercise in both dark humor and futility.

Editorial: Build the pedestrian bridge — quickly

dailyherald.com — A pedestrian bridge at Higgins Road and I-290/Route 53 near Schaumburg has been planned for years, but unfortunately it didn't come before a cyclist's death last week. Work on the bridge begins soon, but that intersection should be made safer immediately, a Daily Herald editorial says.

Editorial: Assaults on core values of freedom cry out for response

dailyherald.com — Your Community News & Weather loading... Article posted: 5/15/2013 9:13 AM We are long past expressing disappointment over President Barack Obama's unfulfilled first-term promise that his administration would be the most open and accessible in history.

Morrison: We must rethink old ideas about retirement

dailyherald.com — Guest columnist Tom Morrison: With state Rep. Jeanne Ives, I've introduced House Bill 3303 that provides a clear path to modernize our pension systems by moving to a defined contribution plan. Private and public entities have embraced these plans because they are sustainable and better guarantee retirement security for all.

Klickna: Coalition plan is fair, effective, constitutional

dailyherald.com — Guest columnist Cinda Klickna: Even SB 1's backers don't claim it will survive a court challenge. Their reaction is, "Let's find out." That irresponsible approach to public policy caused the mess that Illinois is dealing with now. We have to be smart and pass constitutional bills.

Nekritz: Time to do the right thing over the easy thing

dailyherald.com — Guest Columnist Elaine Nekritz: We cannot stay on this path, and that is why SB 1 is so important. It will save us more than $1 billion in our immediate pension payment, cut about $30 billion off our massive unfunded debt of nearly $100 billion and, over the next 30 years, reduce more than $150 billion off what we pay for pensions.

Editorial: The time for pension reform is at hand

dailyherald.com — Your Community News & Weather loading... Article posted: 5/12/2013 5:00 AM We arrive here, in the middle of May, with momentum building for real public pension reform but still with it being anyone's guess whether anything meaningful will happen. The Illinois House has passed one plan. The Illinois Senate has passed another.

Editorial: Towns must talk, cooperate in fight against flooding

dailyherald.com — Your Community News & Weather loading... Article posted: 5/10/2013 8:05 AM The Des Plaines River has receded, the cleanup goes on. And while the shouting has stopped, there is still anger and hurt in Des Plaines, where many people are convinced that Mount Prospect worsened the flooding they endured by adjusting a levee to protect its own residents.

Editorial: End retirement payouts for unused time off

dailyherald.com — Your Community News & Weather loading... Article posted: 5/9/2013 12:01 PM The state is in the grip of a much more expensive debate - choosing between two pension-cutting plans that could save between $45 billion to as much as $150 billion - but in the midst of a financial quagmire, saving even just millions of dollars should not be scoffed at.

Editorial: Something to talk about on pensions -- but just a start

dailyherald.com — Your Community News & Weather loading... Article posted: 5/8/2013 7:39 AM For years, Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross has emphasized the importance of requiring all parties to the Illinois pension crisis to have some "skin in the game."