Pension Insanity: Drivers Ed Teacher Retires June 8, 2012 with pension of $183,668.

Pension insanity or “Constitutional” insanity or both?

The issue of outrageous pensions and salaries continues to be ignored in Springfield as politicians of both parties ignore the real problem with pensions and concentrate on so-called reform that will not work. The problem is salaries are too high and pensions are too high. The problem is not that taxpayers are not paying enough.

As far as the above mentioned Drivers Ed teacher goes he is not the only 9-month employee to retire in 2012 with a pension over $100,000. There were more than 140 K-12 teachers (not administrators) who retired this year with pensions over $100,000. In fact there were so many that I will only show you those teachers retiring in 2012 whose pension was over $120,000. Otherwise the list would be too long.

By 9-month employee I mean a contractual 182 day work year less on average 12 sick-days leaving a 170 day work year. The sick-days are subtracted from the contract days because they are used to pretend 2 years-worth of work when retirement comes along. And some districts such as District 220 in Barrington allow up to 23 sick-days a year to be accrued for pension purposes meaning those public employees are only actually working 159 days per year. How many people do you know who work only 34 weeks a year but retire on an $183,000 pension? Exactly zero unless you are a teacher.

Why are teachers special? What is inherent in their job that entitles them to a 159 day work-year, tenure, retirement at age 54, 25% salary increase over their last four years before retirement, and the right to strike if they are not happy? Why do more than 10,000 Illinois teachers have salaries over $100,000/yr. when WI has only eight? Why do Illinois teachers only have to work until age 54 to retire on full pensions when WI teachers, at lower pay, have to work until age 65?

Is it because our student test scores are higher? Well no, Illinois student test scores are actually lower than WI. So we pay more but get less.

Note that the districts listed in the following table do not pay for these pensions. The pensions are paid at the state level which means that a single mom with two kids who goes to the local convenience store and buys a gallon of milk, comes home and warms the milk up in the microwave pays sales tax on the milk and utility taxes on the electricity both of which go to pay the Drivers Ed’s $183,000 pension.

Rob the poor and give it to the rich.

Senator Elaine Nekritz perhaps said it best in describing what out-of-control public salaries and pensions are costing the people of Illinois:

“The General Assembly continues to make dramatic cuts to education funding, is closing prisons and mental health facilities and is reducing spending on health care for the poorest and most vulnerable citizens in Illinois, including, for example, children who rely on ventilators for their every breath.”

So Illinois politicians what is it going to be – $183,000 pensions for Drivers Ed teachers or ventilators for children who cannot breathe without them?

I know what my vote is. What’s yours?