The Chicago Tribune had a story about city councilmen being in the Illinois Municipal Retirement (Pension) Fund.
It focused on Oak Forest, emphasizing that IMRF requires part-time employees to be able to swear under penalty of perjury that they work at least 1,000 hours a year.
“There are 2,408 elected officials of any type participating in IMRF, and 522 are governing body members – meaning trustees or alderman – of municipalities, records show,” the Tribune reports.
In addition (unless the Tribune has included them with the 522), there are part-time county board members.
All on the McHenry County Board but Andrew Gasser, Don Kopsell and Robert Nowak are receiving IMRF benefits from the taxpayers.
Kopsell and Nowak are retired from full-time jobs at local governments (Nunda Township and the Village of Cary, respectively) covered by IMRF and, presumably, receiving IMRF pension checks.
Gasser said he would not take pension or health benefits when he campaigned for office.
Gasser has estimated the benefits McHenry County Board members will receive this Fiscal Year (last December 1st through this November 30th) on his blog.
You can see his graphic below (which was prepared before Jeff Thorsen took Ken Koehler’s place)::
It will be interesting to see if any non-incumbents running for the County Board will use the issue of fringe benefits as part of their campaigns.
Not mentioned is Andrew gets a military pension already before the age 55 like IMRF allows.
He also can get free health care through the VA.
If county board members are doing their homework and preparing themselves for the various meetings, do they put in the 20 hours a week should be the question?
Zimbabweans say: “pray for rain during the rainy season”.
(ask for the attainable)
Here is something the County Board could provide, at no cost to themselves (even to their own individual benefits, presuming board members do not live in a van down by the river), and to the great benefit of McHenry County families who might spend household income by their own will rather than pay it in property taxes to developers:
“Any Illinois Legislator who votes YES for ANY 12 year TIF extension gets a big NO vote from McHenry County”.
We were supposed to be a citizen government made up of volunteers…
.wonder why government continues to get bigger?
AND don’t forget your local school board members receive nothing.
It is outrageous that we have 24 County Board members receiving salaries and pension benefits for allegedly running our county.
Why do we need 24?
Talk about a waste of money, their salaries are outrageous and to think they are receiving health insurance for their families and pension benefits makes fools of all of us.
Now consider the people that really run our county and work on a full time basis, the County Administrator, the elected officials, the department heads and on and on and on.
We are all fools!
Are they STILL paying Yvonne Barnes more for vice chair??
I didn’t think that was legal.
Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye!
The problem in Illinois which must be addressed is the FACT that public sector employees are guaranteed a pension with a 3 percent per year bump guaranteed!
You can talk about the elected and what they make but you can vote them out of office.
Ever try to fire a public sector employee?
Quit being distracted by the side issues!
The problem is that we The People have lost control of Springfield AND D.C.
So, you get rid of a few public sector pensions for a few elected people.
So what?
Salaries and pensions for full time public sector employees keep increasing!
As fewer and fewer people vote, it becomes easier and easier for the public sector employees to control those who are elected.
Just look at you local School Board, your municipal government and your County government:
They RUBBER STAMP almost everything put in front by the staff!
The few exceptions are where a Steve or a Susan or a Alan or a Emily or some other person organizes a group of people to stop a few rubber stamps.
A classic example is the County Board Rep. who works with MCCD, Susan Schofield.
She does not appear to represent the taxpayers of the County as every report she makes to the County Board is a sales job on behalf of the employees at MCCD.
Most of these are your fiscally responsible republicans who talk one way but don’t walk the talk.
You voted for them.
You are right, Cal, we need two viable parties running for an office.
It does not matter what you name yourself but what you stand for.
Whoops!
Just noticed that I screwed up!
It is Carolyn NOT Susan Schofield.
For Karma: As one of your esteemed leaders stated a few years back while speaking at the Woodstock Square:
Just look at their voting records, other than the recent one on the budget, very few have discovered a nickel they can turn down. They love to spend, spend, spend.
They keep approving wage increases while we the public are left with less and less services because Department staffs continue to decrease.
Andrew Gasser worked for the military full-time to earn his pension and health benefits.
He should be commended for his decision to turn down medical benefits and pension as a County Board Member, not questioned as to motive nor derided.
How many times have you heard Board Members say they are not doing this for the money?
Sure, and cost of medical coverage is declining for the rest of us, too!
If they aren’t doing it for the money, then don’t take it!
A very simple way to bring about term limits is to eliminate pensions and medical benefits for elected officials.
The idea that you are entitled to healthcare and a pension as a county board official is ridiculous.
Let me hear again about the problem being the non existent D mocrats.
How about going to electschuster.com/reducing-taxes.
Take a look at “Installment II” on this website.
Our county board had time to make the changes when they received these recommendations… they opted to keep the status quo.