The third floor is where the legislature meets. To the rigth in this photo is the House Chamber, to the left the press room.
We are in this mess because over the years Governors have proposed X amount of dollars for education.
Usually a couple of hundred million dollars.
When the discussions of how to cut up that amount took place, current salaries won over future pensions.
That’s what the Illinois Education Association lobbyists said they wanted.
If it made that powerful group with its big Political Action Committee happy, legislators were happy.
This was a win-win for the teachers’ unions.
They knew the state constitution would require the General Assembly to come up with the pension money.
And, with the larger share going to State Aid to Education that originally planned, not only would their members salaries be higher, but their pensions would increase.
I want to let you know that I resent you now trying to cut the teacher pension benefits. The state legislators have voted again and again not to fund the pension system. They have borrowed against it. The teachers have been paying in all these years and the state didn’t hold up its part of the bargain and now you want to paint us as the bad guys. Shame on you. I have taught in Chicago for 38 years and my parents before me. Leave our pensions alone! And be responsible and pay what you owe to the plans. If you want to cut anyone’s pensions cut your own . I am sure you have more than enough money to live on with all the wheeling and dealings that has gone on in Springfield. Taxes should have been raised years ago. What costs what it did 20 years ago, yet you repeatedly held tax increases at bay and used our pension money to pay the states bills.
Kathy sindewald
708479477
The state legislators have voted again and again not to fund the pension system. They have borrowed against it. The teachers have been paying in all these years and the state didn’t hold up its part of the bargain and now you want to paint us as the bad guys. Shame on you. I have taught in Chicago for 38 years and my parents before me. Leave our pensions alone! And be responsible and pay what you owe to the plans. If you want to cut anyone’s pensions cut your own . I am sure you have more than enough money to live on with all the wheeling and dealings that has gone on in Springfield. Taxes should have been raised years ago. What costs what it did 20 years ago, yet you repeatedly held tax increases at bay and used our pension money to pay the states bills.
Kathy sindewald
708479477
Yet another reason we are in this mess.
More reasons.
1. End of Career salary spikes, that cause an underfunded pension. Such spikes used to be up to 20% and are now capped at 6%, unless the district wants to pay the TRS pension fund a penalty for spiking the pension over 6%. The 6% end-of-career salary increase has been the norm for the past several years in Chicago suburbs. That’s 24% increase in the last four years of the employees (teachers and administrators) career. Now what other job in the history of earth provides their rank and file employees with a 24% salary increase their last 4 years. The best teacher and the worst teacher in the district gets the same 6% increase. Many school districts the last few years have issued press releases about a “salary freeze” but failed to clearly tell taxpayers that not frozen were those 6% end-of-career salary increases that are a sacred cow in many districts. Look at your district’s collective bargaining agreement which is required by law to be on your district’s website.
These end of career salary increases have been occurring for decades. Any such underfunding in the pension is to be payed to the pension fund by the State of IL in the state’s “fair share” contribution. Fair to who? The teacher or taxpayer?
2. 8.5% rate of return in the TRS pension fund. If 8.5% is not achieved, the state of IL comes up with the difference in the “fair share” contribution. Fair to who? The teacher or taxpayer? Who’s going to fund a loss in the taxpayer’s 401k? No one but the taxpayer. How many pension funds have an 8.5% rate of return target? TRS is one of the few. The vast majority are at a more realistic lower target. But hey, if the State of IL is required to contribute that shortfall as part of their “fair share” contribution, that takes a lot of heat off the investment managers in the TRS pension fund because all those teachers and administrators will be hollering at the State of IL instead of the TRS pension fund managers. Sounds like that scheme benefits the financial services industry.
3. Sick bank cashout. Many retiring teachers and administrators have cashed in a substantial amount of unused sick leave, causing a end of career salary spike, which causes the pension to be underfunded. Once again, the state of IL comes up with the difference in the state’s “fair share” contribution. Fair to who? The teacher or taxpayer?
I have never heard of teachers or administrators exposing these problems. Why don’t teachers demand their union fix the above schemes. I didn’t hear any IEA commercials to fix those problems.
Federal Government and private industry have largely switched to defined contribution pensions and 401k’s. State and local governments have persisted with defined benefit pensions.
And teachers have the nerve to solely blame the State of IL. What a joke. Talk about self-righteous.
The State of IL is already losing population. Do teachers think that raising taxes will attract more taxpayers, or cause existing taxpayers to leave the state?
And what is a primary tool for the State of IL to attract or retain business? Tax cuts.
It’s not so simple as to just raise taxes so teachers and administrators get all their juicy perks.
These rules were lobbied for and in some cases almost written verbatim by teachers union lobbyists (IEA, IPACE, IFT, CTU) who were payed by teachers unions who were paid by teachers who were paid by school districts who received their money from local, state, and Federal government who received their money from taxpayers.
It’s in the taxpayer’s interest to contact their State Senator and Representative to log their vote on this issue, because the unions are asking their members to do the same. The unions have PR commercials to advocate their cause.