Throwing more dirt into an open grave will not resurrect the dead. Neither will asking retirees to pay more and get less resolve the massive debt that your negligence has created.
As a retired educator who worked as a public employee and paid my share into the public pension system for 34 years, I demand that you not reduce my retirement benefits that were promised to me in any way, shape, or form! Please VOTE NO on Amendment 15 to SB1673. Failure to do so will not only throw more dirt on the reputation of the government of this state and its legislators, but it will also represent the end all hope of young people entrusting themselves and their talents to the future of education, law and fire enforcement and any form of public service in Illinois where pension payments are deducted from their paychecks for future compensation.
Why should our retirees and the future benefactors of education and union pensions be denied their Constitutional right to a safe and secure retirement due to the shortsighted greed of those in whom we entrusted our future?
Lena Condic
Don't fix the teacher pension problem by denying retired teachers their earned benefits.
An open letter to Springfield legislators from a retired teacher.
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MartCHawk June 17, 2013 at 07:18 am
People coming from the east will now have to fight through school traffic at Rt. 30/Schoolhouse.…Read More People from southwest New Lenox will have to either venture up Cedar, which is painfully slow... or take Spencer from Laraway, in which they will have to cross Rt. 30 to go straight. Won't be an easy picnic.
Now, "juvenal" must believe TRS benefits are better than SS benefits.....and I have to say that just depends on your final position, how many degrees (depending on individual school contract), and where you retired from. Teachers retiring out of Hinsdale will have a great retirement due to the financial wealth found in that town, however teachers out of Joliet won't. There are many, many factors involved. I can say that school districts do not offer 401K and IRA, nothing of that nature....simply 9.4% into TRS. Teachers are taking a big hit for being the reason for the pension crisis that exists today....some say they are "bloated"....however, many, many groups from both sides of the aisle were at the table when the pension formulas where written.
Seems like no one in the state government wanted to prepare for when the "baby boomers" hit the retirement age....this should have been though of years ago, and worked on, but the state government kicked that can down the street, and here we are. There is not a single teacher out there that would disagree that there is a pension crisis. What upsets us the most is that proposals and so called solutions and rushed, and pushed through without all groups having educated input, just politicians putting a quick fix bandaid on the situation, and kicking the can further down the street for future generations to fix.....Illinois is so notorious. There is also the fact that Illinois politicians used money earmarked for state retirement funds for other projects, which is really what caused the pension crisis, but that is the untold story here, which is unfortunate. This is a mess, but to say it is all the teachers' fault, is unfair
In the sacred business world, corporate pensions have been looted for years and in many cases left the government with the bill. The long term plan for these greedy leaders is now at the point where the only pensions they have left to destroy are social security and public sector pensions. We need to stand together and quit attaching each other, since everyone without a high six or seven figure salary will be left with nothing. It will all be stolen from us like this country did to the Indians, African slaves, Middle-Eastern oil, etc. I love my country but since we are finding it difficult to steal from other countries we are now turning on our own. Think about the big picture.
Take a moment to view what teachers in 230 make at http://www.suntimes.com/data/14314316-666/database-search-for-illinois-teacher-and-administrator-salaries.html and at http://www.familytaxpayers.org/ftf/ftf_salaries.php Go ahead and tell me teachers are underpaid!
https://district.d230.org/Publications/CompensationReport2012.pdf Look at what they make under retirement enhancement and other benefits.
Also, SSC benefits paid by taxpayers are limited by outside salaries. Since public pensions are given so early that recipients more often than not get second careers, often by subsitute teacheinig where they "retired" from or other public jobs. they should be subject to the same pension reductions as SSC recipients for salary income. It's time for making public employees pay their fair share, and suffer the same limitations, as the rest of us. They currently pay for less than half of their benefits, FAR less than half when end of career spiking and early retirement prorams are considered. It's time to "level the playing field" for new employees and those not yet retired!
Even if you had enough full time hours to meet the qualifying factors...you can't claim both. Furthermore, if a teacher becomes disabled they also are not able to collect SS Disability!