The Big Lie in Education Funding
By Bill Zettler The ‘big lie’ in education funding In Illinois — the biggest “big lie” is the claim that public school funding is inadequate. The real problem in Illinois is not school funding; it…
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Pension Update: Top 2005 State pension = $357,800
By Bill Zettler The top pension in 2005 was $357,800 as opposed to last years measly $314,000. To give you an idea of what that pension is worth think about it this way: in…
Read MoreTop 100 Illinois state pensions
By Bill Zettler Illinois Top 100 Pension Payouts 2003-2004 Fiscal Year 24 Illinois Public Employees Have Pensions Greater than a former President of the United States! Monthly: Annual: Pension Plan: 26,179 314,148 State Universities Retirement…
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Total Pension Liability for ONE School District, D300, sheet 3 of 3
This file can take a few seconds to load. District 300 Carpentersville , IL = (Sheet 3 of 3) Pension Liability for 2005 Salaries = $5,007,298,037 Pension Liability for 2005 Salaries $50,419 to $38,478 (Sheet…
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Total Pension Liability for ONE School District, D300, sheet 2 of 3
This file can take a few seconds to load. District 300 Carpentersville, IL = (Sheet 2 of 3) Pension Liability for 2005 Salaries = $5,007,298,037 Pension Liability for 2005 Salaries $67,030 to $50,434 (Sheet 2 of…
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Total Pension Liability for ONE School District, D300, sheet 1 of 3
District 300 Carpentersville, IL = (Sheet 1 of 3) Pension Liability for 2005 Salaries = $5,007,298,037 Pension Liability for 2005 Salaries $188,033 to $67,134 (Sheet 1 of 3) = $1,421,602,555 Assumption 1: Retirement after 34 years…
Read MoreD300 program cuts v. pension boosts
By Bill Zettler The District 300 Teachers Contract contains the following paragraph on page 44: B. REGULAR RETIREMENT. 1. Members of the bargaining unit who have served a minimum of 12 years in the…
Read MoreBig Ire may be on the way
By Bill Zettler I make this statement after reading a Jan 25th Daily Herald article about McHenry School District 15’s proposed referendum headlined “Tax Increase Plan Draws Little Ire”. I’m thinking “Big Ire” will…
Read MoreThe meaning of the word education
Bill Clinton once told us it depended upon what the meaning of “is” is. For Illinois citizens it depends upon what the meaning of “education” is. Let us see if we know what the…
Read MoreIt’s time for ‘Taxpayers Week’
After reading various news reports recently promoting “Education Week” I decided it would only be fair that I represent the taxpayer for “Taxpayer Week” where we taxpayers would solicit praise from various public employee…
Read MoreMyth about teachers’ salaries continues
Tom Trousdale from Leyden High School District 212 recently wrote a letter lamenting, once again, the state of the poor, underpaid, underpensioned Illinois schoolteacher. This is another example of teacher union mythology that,…
Read MoreGovernment workers very well-paid: no kidding
David Denholm, who is the president of the Public Service Research Foundation, recently analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics and reported his findings in the Heartland Institute’s Budget & Tax News….
Read MoreIntroducing the Golden Handcuff Award
By Bill Zettler Since teachers have the Golden Apple Award I thought it only appropriate to have a similar award for politicians called the “Golden Handcuff Award.” Whereas the Golden Apple recognizes the highest…
Read MoreJohn Kass v. the rest of the Illinois media
We note that a few recent John Kass columns have included references to the Republican nominee for governor of Illinois. On September 20th he had this to say in answer to a letter writer: Judy won…
Read MoreIllinois Descending: Life imitating art
Much of the 2006 race for governor in Illinois is surreal. We’d hoped things would never get this bad. As of now the general election looks more like a Democrat Party primary. The best…
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