The difference in item level between green/blue/epic shows that the intent of this change is to have a clear difference in stats between qualities, meaning that you can safely assume that by the time they're done and everything has been scaled correctly, that Epics will be giving the most stats -- as was originally intended since, well, that's how it's just supposed to work; Epic > Rare > Uncommon > Common > Poor.
That said, clearly these item levels are NOT FINAL
The only thing you have to worry about is that Epic gear will give the most stats.
So RIP to those with no epic cudgel. Time to remake your twink, or find other weapons to use.