government pensions

Let's talk about teachers..............they are facing the same reductions as the rest of Illinois government employees. First of all, teachers do not make enough money for what they are called upon to do. They don't get paid for the hours they spend before and after class to complete all the assigned tasks they have. Did you know most teachers spend over $1,000.00 annually for supplies for their students and do not get reimbursed for most of that cost? Depending on where a teacher works determines their safety factors but not pay factors. And what about state clerical workers who work 35 years or more and receive very very low wages and an even lower pension. All of these people keep Illinois government running. But in the end our officials don't care about what was..............just what is. They don't remember the days of no pay raises because of poor planning by them. They don't care that pay raises were excluded in contract negotiations in order for employees to get other benefits like insurance. They just care that they didn't spend wisely and now someone has to take up the slack. That would be the workers not the government officials..........

Government pensions in Illinois are headed for trouble: Illinois pension reform

Government pensions in Illinois are headed for trouble: Illinois pension reform: Illinois government is going after the little guy. It is a misconception that Illinois teachers and law enforcers have a cushy pension. The...

Illinois pension reform

Illinois government is going after the little guy. It is a misconception that Illinois teachers and law enforcers have a cushy pension. Therefore, the legislative body in Illinois including the governor believe that to balance the budget the only fair thing to do is cut our penions and insurance benefits that we, as retirees worked long and hard to attain. Let's start with pensions. Illinois law says that government must match the amount an employee puts into the pension system every pay day. Well, for many, many years that was not and is not the case. Then to add insult to injury the government borrowed OUR money we put in to our pensions and used it to cover debt that the government incurred. Now, they believe they have no obligation to stand by us now that we are retired. The Illinois constitution says they cannot do this. But their plan is to ammend the constitution to suit their needs. It should also be noted that others who are in the same retirement system as law enforcement and teachers are not effected by this. The government excluded judiciary and legislative personnel from this bill they are trying to pass. It comes as no surprise that politics are corrupt. But if Illinois cut out the ridiculous pork projects that waste a good amount of Illinois budget we might not be in this mess. Whatever happened to "the right thing" when it comes to loyal employees. Many people think we make a lot of money in our jobs. We make a living............How many of those who determine our future would be willing to be a teacher or a police officer. They don't want us when they don't need us but they cry loud and strong when they want us and we are not right there. Keep an eye on this legislation. And keep an eye on other states that feel they should balance their budget by taking away from those who worked hard in a field noone else was interested in.