"We simply do not have the money to pay these added costs" Of course the "added costs" to which you refer are your own, so-generous-no-private-employer in-the-country-could-pay-them" health care and pension benefits. Illinois dropped the ball on their contributions but they are not the "villian" here. A giant wildfire is coming, and the persons with the biggest swimming pool in town refuse to let any oth "their" water be used to put out the fire. I'll tell you what Ms. Gunter: Add up the total amount you have contributed to TRS over your career. Double that (to equal what the state would have put in) and then compare that number with the number you get adding your first year pension (+ maybe $10,000 for your health benefits) times your life expectancy in years. You are probably getting back 5 to 10 times what was (or even should have been) paid into the system. People on social security get a negative return on theirs (and their employers) investment; almost no one will get more than $24k/year from SS. So how, exactly, are YOU being treated unfairly?

http://www.aei.org/article/why-public-pensions-are-so-rich/

Unfortunately the state no longer gets funds from the federal government. "Gotta cut those taxes" people say. So costs are not spread out among the 50 states. Our state has no money to pay for its own expenses so costs cannot be spread out among tax districts across the state. The school district has no money to pay for its expenses and so it asks for more tax money from taxpayers. Seems to me what we need is a magical money tree to solve our problems. We all are going to have to pay more for less in the next decade. I just wish I had the opportunity of a pension--no matter if it was me or my employer who was paying toward it!

Shocking numbers BH Fan! Something upon which we can agree....

“So, what will happen in Homewood if Governor Quinn's proposal comes to fruition?”
The state of Illinois credit rating will increase so it will enable the state to borrow at a lower cost. This is a quote from Moody’s “The administration’s recognition of the need to substantively reform the pension system is credit positive for the state of Illinois … which has struggled to address its pension challenges for decades,”
I am not sure where you come up with an annual cost to District 153 of $2 million please explain this number in detail. Please also explain why District 153 needs 4 administrations to run a school district K through 8th grade. The people of Homewood should be outraged by the mismanagement of funds that our district has received.
You should actually be ashamed of yourself for trying to put a guilt trip on the good people of Homewood to fight your battle so you can have a pension in your glory years that not many will ever have.

Ms. Gunter - Sounds like you're upset that "the chickens are coming home to roost". I thought your collective agenda is for social justice, you know...eat the rich, help the poor get more free stuff, blah blah blah. "Hard decisions will have to be made..." that's an Alinsky straw man. The only hard decision is how much the unions need to give back in order to keep the money flowing to the politicians.
I'm thankful you have a job to help pay for all the gubmint largesse here in Illinois. At least you have a job.
In conclusion, suck it up, pay your "fair share" and quit whining.
SHEESH!

I would never want to have a job where someone else controlled my retirement funds, let alone the State of Illinois! I think the teachers should have individual retirement accounts. How could you trust politicians with your life's savings? What is the rate of return written into the general contract? Is it more than the market could possibly bear? These questions never are discussed. When you ask they demonize you as anti teacher, and anti education. You can't get blood from a turnip.

Who are you blackhawks fan to shame anyone?

The good people of Homewood that I know, care about our children and our neighbors' children. We understand the importance of an educated population for our collective future.

Teachers have never missed their contribution to their pension. They've managed their funds well. The State of Illinois, however, did not. Instead they used their contributions to settle other areas of the state budget because they could.

Why wouldn't you be upset with the state for mismanaging your money? After they come for the teachers' pension they'll come for your tax money and they won't hear when you whine.

Perhaps there are those that would like to privatize education so that the "haves" can "have more" and those that don't can go scratch. I am not one of those people. Perhaps there are those that don't believe we have a responsibility to the youngest of us. I am not one of those people either.

Teachers aren't the cause of the problem but I bet they will have educated the person or persons who solve it.

Every private employer has to match their employee's social security contributions 100%. (6.2% each) School districts pay 0.58% match. So Basically the school districts and state could never afford their pension programs. But the teacher's unions would rather bankrupt the state and soak the taxpayers further to get what they were "promised" rather than countenance ANY change to their unbelievably sweet deal, and their approach is to demonize those who want to have a serious policy debate as "anti-public education" And their Jedi mind tricks work on a good portion of the populace......

Ok, some numbers. Homewood teachers pay 9.4% and the District pays 0.58%
If you contribute to Soc Security you currently pay 4.2% and your employer pays 6.2%
Teachers pay more than twice into TRS than you or I pay into Soc. Security and our employer pays 10 times more into Soc. Sec right? So if a teacher's pension would be $45.000 a year and my Soc Sec would be $22.500 a year( but I also saved through 401K and other investments to have a cushion on top of my SS, I could do that with the 5.2% that I had left after my 4.2% into SS because the teachers pay 9.4% right?) and I would end up with $45.000 a year....? Then what's so wrong about teachers receiving a pension based on their contributions?
This is for the link posted by Blackhawks Fan....I checked to see who sits on the Board of Trustees at AEI, varied group of wealthy CEOs(ever heard of a poor CEO?) and also "The Honorable Richard B. Cheney" . Interesting....now I see where those writers are coming from.

The people of Illinois will always vote for these corrupt pols. I have a strange feeling that Wanda voted for them as well. Maybe you and your union friends should show up at the door steps of Mr. Madigan? Say hi to Lisa while you are at it.

Maybe we should have the Attorney General investigate? http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-01-22/news/chi-100121-madigan-main-story_1_madigan-getzendanner-madigan-rules-conduct-and-compliance

Yoka, the 4.2 % is only for this year and last, it is usually 6.2% and the 1.5 % for Medicare, both of which are matched by employers for a total of 15.6% of salary, which is foregone income to the employee (i.e. a private employee pays 12.4%, no matter whether you call it an employer or employeee contribution, a teacher pays 9.98%. HOWEVER for a private person to get that whole $25k per year they would have had to paid taxes on MAXIMUM earnings for 40 years, (currently about $110k) retiring at 67. Teachers get to retire much earlier, with less total contribution, and take home pensions that are MUCH larger. If you want to compare the current average TRS pension, it is $43,000 but that should not be compared with the theoretical maximum, but the current average social security benefit: $14,760.00 http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/13/~/average-monthly-social-security-benefit-for-a-retired-worker
So..... its fair that teachers get triple the pension than the Illinois taxpayers who fund that sweet deal?????

I hate to be blunt. Teacher pensions were not granted. They were DEMANDED by the unions and inept boards of education caved in. They always figured they could just keep raising taxes and all would be ok. Teachers kept demanding and boards kept giving. They even give grand salary and retirement benefits to administrators. A little birdie told me that the superintendent of Homewood-Flossmoor High School receives over $350,000 per year in salary. So does that mean this administrator will get 70% of that amount as a pension every year??? That would be $20,000 per month, or around $245,000 per year.

The greed of the education system is causing its collapse. Don't blame your Governor.

The Governor's end up in prison so they are limited to a few years of damage each. Mike Madigan is the force behind it. Blame the people of district 22. http://www.precinctmaps.com/maps/GA/House2011/22ndHouse.pdf

You don't have to have a little bird tell you, the numbers are readily available: http://www.familytaxpayers.org/salary.php
HF's taxpayers are paying their new single-school Superintendent Mr. E. Mansfield "only" $285 K , but he had no prior experience as a superintendent; I'm sure his next contract will get his pay out of that poverty-line level and into the $300-$400k range where he surely belongs...

Wanda,The General Assembly may have passed the pension law but it’s the Illinois Association of School Boards, which lobbies the Illinois Legislature that pleads with the state for more of our tax dollars. It’s a never ending downward spiral of more tax dollars funding more and higher pension programs that has to stop.

Nick ~ You may want to read this article if you think it's all the fault of the liberals!!!

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-03-23/news/ct-edit-eddy-20120323_1_public-pension-systems-pension-funding-crisis-trs

My entire comment would not fit, so I posted it here:

http://sosmtm.blogspot.com/2012/05/how-dare-teacher-speak-up.html

This is the part that would fit:

It is sad to read the comments on here criticizing Ms. Gunter for explaining why the pension crisis is the fault of the state and how it will affect schools and communities all over the state. At one point teachers and public education were valued and respected; now teachers are told to "suck it up," and quit whining. Paying for public education is treated as an unwanted burden, and "those greedy unions" are the cause of all that is wrong with it.

On the other hand, the corruption of the state government is ignored...some even went as far as to imply Ms. Gunter is partially to blame for that because she voted. Instead of being appalled at the fact that the state broke its promise, mismanaged money, and ignored the state constitution, people snicker about teachers finally getting their comeuppance and point out our "lavish" pensions compared to their own.

Since when did America become about being jealous of somebody who puts in day after day of hard work teaching children? Jealous because of an annual salary that still puts some near the poverty level, and is modest at best for most others? Jealous of somebody who works for thirty-plus years, contributes his or her own money to a pension fund, and then hopes to eventually collect a pension substantial enough to make ends meet once retired?

Chris I would have expected such a lengthy "response" to l make an argument and support it with facts. Remember. Topic Sentence-Supporting Facts-Conclusion I have yet to see any refutation of FACTS. "Fair" and "unfair" are opinions not facts. You can call proposals that put teachers and government workers closer (but still far above) the rest of us in terms of retirement payout for dollars invested "unfair" but that just means the rest of us have even more "unfair" deals. If teachers insist on getting their full due, then the state will just close more prisons, and facilities for the developmentally disabled, and reduce environmental enforcement, and maybe reduce police and firefighter pensions instead. I like teachers, but I also like safe streets and clean air and preserving the dignity of the mentally disabled. You can just "tax the rich" right into Wisconsin and Indian, and revenues will fall further. I'm losing respect for teachers who pull the martyr card but offer no realistic solutions. "Shared sacrifice", anyone?

Thank you for being so supportive Kate! I know most people are extremely supportive of teachers; it just the ones who are not that tend to be the loudest. I also know many people are struggling right now, but turning it around on teachers as if we deserve any type of cuts to our wages or benefits still confuses me. When I see stories about people in other hard-working professions being mistreated by their employers or their government, I don't feel as if it's some sort of victory for me; I become upset that they are being treated that way. I'm hoping the comments from some of those above are due more to misdirected anger about our economy in general instead of being a true reflection of the way people feel about the teaching profession.

From the TRS website:
...TRS will pay all pension benefits this year and for the foreseeable future. The “inadequate funding’ is the TRS unfunded liability, which is a long-term problem. TRS has enough money on hand to pay all benefits this year and for decades into the future. TRS has carried an unfunded liability since at least 1953 and has never missed a pension check.
TRS does not have to pay off the unfunded liability all at once. The unfunded liability never comes due because it is made up of what’s owed retired teachers and active teachers. And since active teachers cannot collect their benefits, that part of the liability does not have to be paid. The current unfunded liability at TRS is $44 billion.

In other words, the pension "crisis" is less of a crisis than our state would have you believe. Do I have a solution for the impending crisis? I have some ideas, but finance is far from my area of expertise. Do the teachers' unions have solutions? Well, according to the We Are One coalition of public employee unions,

“Public employees must be treated and heard as full partners in any substantive discussions. No one has a greater stake in solving the problem than we do. A serious problem deserves a serious effort at a solution. The unions are ready.” The unions, however, "were not asked to be part of Governor Quinn’s pension working group."

It's hard to offer solutions when there is nobody there to hear them.

I understand that the pensions are unsustainable, but I hear nothing from the unions, as to a solution. Only that it is unconstitutional and Illinois must pay. If there is no money how does Illinois pay. Raise taxes? Cut programs? Should the pensions of teachers be more than the average taxpayer in their community? Are the unions willing to compromise?

Illinois has a $83 Billion pension liability, $54 billion retiree health liability and $9 billion in current unpaid bills

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/04/illinois-admits-83-billion-in-pension.html

Also from the TRS website:
Total actuarial accrued liability was $81.3 billion at June 30, 2011.
• The unfunded actuarial accrued liability increased from $39.9 billion at June 30, 2010 to $43.5 billion
at June 30, 2011. The funded ratio decreased from 48.4 percent at June 30, 2010 to 46.5 percent at
June 30, 2011. The unfunded liability and funded ratio for both years are calculated using a smoothed
value of assets, as required under Public Act 96-0043.

Nice try, Nick. In case you don't know, the Tribune is the most anti-union publication around. Did you see their three choices of who is accountable? Who is to blame for this mess?

Public unions
Politicians in bed with public unions
Voters who vote for politicians who are in bed with public unions.
Every answer is something negative about unions. Again, the teachers in the unions paid every penny they were supposed to pay....always. Perhaps the Trib, like many newspapers, is in danger of going under. But, perhaps, the corporate Big Wigs are paying them off to make sure they survive another day. The unions, lest you forget history, were created to support the middle class. To make sure that middle-class Americans weren't pushed around. To make things fair. The unions are NOT the bad guys here. My union, in fact, advocates as much for children's rights as it does for educational personnel rights. How can that be a bad thing? Making our schools a better place to learn and to work seems to make sense to me.

The divisiveness here began with the original poster, who placed sole blame for this problem on "the state" and then basically said that it was "the kids" who would suffer in order for teachers to maintain their promised benefits.Teachers, make the case for your benefits to continue untouched, or propose a solution to the problem. Stop with the straw man arguments, ad hominem attacks, and blatant appeals to sympathy. Take a look at the world as it is, stop regurgitating union talking points with no analysis, and realize that none of us are getting what we thought we were "promised" in the workplace. Tough choices need to be made; we can't all have lollipops for dinner and expect no long term consequences. The state has a massive structural deficit and cannot pay its bills. As long as you say "don't take mine" you are saying "take it from someone else." So, Chris, it is just as valid for me to say you hate developmentally disabled children as it is for you to say I hate teachers. Neither is (I suspect) true. There is no magic money tree that will enable the state to make up tens of billions in contributions to your (now undisputably much more generous than private sector) pension and maintain mental health services and safe streets and clean air and prevent child abuse, etc etc. It is not jealousy at issue here. Nobody wants to bring teachers down but few of us want to see them whining to preserve something that no one else has and no one can afford....

Chris and Wanda just because we don’t agree with you it doesn’t mean we are against teachers. The system is broken and is in dire need of drastic changes.

The lotto does contribute to school funding in 2010 the lotto contributed $650 million to the school fund. http://www.iasb.com/pdf/lottery.pdf

Tax the big corporations more at the state level????

If the state of Illinois puts too much tax pressure on the large corporations whose to say they won’t move and take their jobs with them.

Possible solutions:
1. Implement Public Pension Stabilization Plan.
2. Tax the unions and lobbyist. Unions should not be tax exempt especially if they are lobbying for more of our tax dollars.
3. No double dipping for state pensions. (EX) Republican state Rep. Roger Eddy and many more.
4. Raise registration and activity fees by $200 per student. Over 2 million students.
5. Raise employee pension contribution of all administrators that make more than $150K to 15%.
6. Cap state pensions for administrators.
7. Cap lotto jackpot at $50 million and increase school funding.
8. Tax the super wealthy more at the state level.

To all of those people who are opposed to this article.....
If it was happening to you.....YOU WOULD BE ANGRY TOO.
But.....since it does not effect you...you are against it.
The Government just keeps TAKING,TAKING,TAKING....Doesnt Ask the tax payers...just Takes.
Let me say this....if we agree to this Pension Reform....DO YOU ACTULLY THINK THIS WILL BE THE END OF THE BUDGET CRISSIS?
I think not......They will find other reasons to just walk in and take everyones money....Including yours!!!!! The more money the government takes....the more they spend....NOW THATS A FACT

The fair tax should be kept in place. Eliminate the ability to go around it with all kinds of deductions and loopholes and you will have more revenues immediately without touching the rates. No person should have to pay a different rate based on anything. We are all equal. The more you make the more you will pay. For sake of argument say we have a flat tax of 10 percent. !0 % of one million is way higher than 10 % of 40, 000. Just eliminate the ability to go around the payment of the original 10 percent and stop pitting one group against another. Why hate the rich? How do we know how they got there? Penalizing and demonizing things makes them go away. Isn't hating the rich just another form of discrimination? No I am not rich, I am tired of people labeling them just as they rail against the labeling of others. This class warfare crap is terrible and very destructive.

BTW why is it always a revenue problem? When a person reaches their credit limit on a visa card and can't make their payments, do they blame someone else and demand an increase in spending limit? Cmon people lets cut back and figure this out. And don't blame the teachers! They didn't come up with this plan, they are just trying to get by, and do a job that most of them love.

Look at Social Security....
How many times has the Government raided Social Security?
Now they say there wont be enough money to cover everyone.
Thats because they raid it making promises to pay it back....and they never do.
Its not the baby boomers fault....its not the tax payers fault.
People need to realize that no matter who gets in Republican, Democrat, Independent, Tea Party....It doesnt matter...they are all crooks.
They all have their own agendas...

I agree with BHF (and I believe C Janotta) that those are serious reforms and a great starting point for a rational discussion. A summary of the Pension Benefit Stabilization Plan is here: http://www2.illinois.gov/budget/Documents/Budgeting%20for%20Results/Governor%27s%20Pension%20Proposal%20One-Pager.pdf
Te Governor said he was put on earth to get pension reform done. Overall I think he has been an ineffective governor, but he has been so pro government union for so long that he may be "the one" Only Nixon could go to China.....

I sent an email to the Governor and I urge others to do so too. Our budget and pension crisis is not going away any time soon. We can be part of the problem or offer solutions.

http://www2.illinois.gov/gov/Pages/ContacttheGovernor.aspx

Way to go Ms. Gunter!

My question is this: if the state refuses to keep a contract into which it entered with teachers, why should ANYONE choose to work for the state in the future?

A contract is a contract. Retired teachers have kept up their end of the bargain. Illinois needs to keep up theirs, or face a future in which the best and the brightest work in states that keep their promises.

I am a Preschool teacher here in Homewood. My classroom is a State Pre-K classroom. My classroom receives money to purchase quality materials and to pay a certified Early Childhood teacher (me). My classroom serves about 20 children.
Because our Government misused funds, The funding for this program may get cut. That means we may not be able to afford quality materials for my class, not to mention I may end up taking a pay cut
Teachers do more for their classes than people realize. Do any of you know that many teachers are buying things for their classes out of their own money? Homewood teachers love their students and so do I. When you want the best for your students you do things like accepting a pay freeze, paying out of pocket so your class can have what they need. It isn't just about the money we make or the money for retirement. It is about the quality of our schools and the learning experience that our children receive. The government messed up and the teachers will be paying for it. Not to mention that now funding for childcare assistance is also been severely reduced and some of the children who are in my class may not be able to come because their parents won't be able to afford it. This problem affects teachers and students. Some people just don't understand and apparently others are just plain ignorant!

The Government messed up.
BUT WHO is the government? US, WE the people!
We voted these people into office and have kept them there.
The institution called the lobbyists contribute to the problem. The squeaky wheel gets the power/money.

I agree that the government "caused" the problem to a degree.
Do not agree that ONLY the teachers will pay.
Do KNOW WE THE PEOPLE will pay!

A major difference between the government and non government is the requirement to stay in business.
Staying in business REQUIRES a balanced budget (even borrowing requires a repayment plan that works).
In the non government space, life time anything is LONG GONE!
Lifetime pensions, lifetime health care are gone for new employees and the existing lifetime benefits enjoyed by previous generations are vanishing.
My children can not relate to lifetime anything! (except debt)
End part 1, Part 2 will be in next post.

Part 2:

There was a time when government (and this includes the education space) where paid a salary much less than private industry but that was offset by the promise of lifetime benefits.

Today there is no thought of going to work (if you can find a job) and retiring from that company with great benefits.
The 401 K was instituted to get companies OUT OF THE PENSION MESS!
Yet every day we read of more and more government (and education) people receiving outrageouss benefits and some even tripple dipping.

Unions exist to "protect" their members benefits and obtain even more.
In the private work environment Unions are shrinking in their influence.
My wife is a part time cashier at a major food chain and receives FANTASTIC BENEFITS as a part time employee.
HOWEVER the big question is how much longer will the company she works for stay in business.
Non union food stores have much cheaper costs and as a result their prices are cheaper and they are growing.
Costs force union controlled business out of business because WE THE PEOPLE will not shop there paying high prices.
Part 3 the solution follows in next post

Part 3 the solution

The solution is simple.
Government must follow the practices that the non government space have instituted.
1. STOP UNLIMITED benefits for new employees
2. Gradually change the benefit plans for some employees based on age of individual + length of service.
3. By the time the next generation reaches retirement age, they will be responsible for their own future.
4. Address the issue of multiple pensions.
5. Understand this simple fact: If income does not at least equal expenses, you go out of business!
Therefore specifically for the teachers issue: increase income(taxes) and/or reduce expenses(benefits)
There is no magic formula, just simple math Income must equal or exceed expense.

openthebooks.com

Thanks Kris, Interesting site for lots of BIG $ information.
I find these "benefits" amazing and I would love to cut them to reasonable levels.
I suspect that there would be major legal fees in attempting to pass a law.
That is the challenge that probably needs new blood in government AND term limits since voting "self benefit" reductions would reduce ability to get re elected.

Well, in the interest of side-stepping the whole pension issue and shifting the blame back to the teachers.

Perhaps the ultimate problem is that we have an educational system (largely run by teachers, administrators and unions) which fails to give the People (i.e their students) the education they need to be productive enough to fund the promises that system has made to the teachers.

When the average kid leaves the public education system at 18 or so he/she is wholly unfit for the world of work and has no idea how to be self-sustaining economically. There is no training in entrepreneurship, in engineering, in industry, etc. They have no idea of their own self-identity and their own passion.

What we have is a curriculum which is 50 to 100 years behind the economy. And yet not nearly as good as 100 years ago in terms of independent thought and action, in reading, math, logic, etc.

Part of the cause of this problem is a teachers union that has lost all contact with the world outside schools and the halls of politics. As a result it insists that "education" is what happens in schools-- regardless of the results or outcomes. The concept of a self-educated person is anathema to them. As a result they graduate students that cannot learn on their own and that is the thing that has robbed our society of the very productivity which could conceivably fix the balance of payments problem by becoming more profitable in the future.

This is why I home school my kids.

There needs to be reform of the pension fund obviously and it needs to start now going forward. Both fed and state should NEVER be allowed to use funds for other things that aren't what they were collected for! The fact they did just means it's ok to steal if you're a politician but for you or I they would lock us up in jail and call it theft!!! The first reductions of benefits should be against all the politicians and union management that agreed to the previous pension funding that was not realistic or sustainable and those approving use of the funds to cover shortfalls created by said politicians.

As far as administrators getting $350,000 a year that is just PATHETIC along with the fact there are WAY TOO MANY IN ADMINISTATION!!! Cut those salaries by 50 or 60% ASAP cut the number to more like 5%. I can't see that those positions are helping the children I think the teachers are within the scope they are allowed. What are they doing that they should be making so much???

We really have to ask ourselves, who has been reaping the benefits of all of our retirement money? They say follow the money - isn't it always the right trail?? Could it be the unions and politicians and overpaid administrators that have sold everyone a bill of goods at the expense of us all while reaping plenty of benefits for themselves? .

Unfortunately, there are too many parallels here to social security. I'd like to say everything paid in by these teachers needs to be given back with interest and earnings but how realistic is that? Would they do it for my social security? If you had a 401k, put in 100,000 over years and now it's only worth 65,000? Don't think your investment house is giving you a dime more. Life is not fair - I don't like it either.
I think the teachers are in for an uphill battle because it will be very hard to find support from others who are suffering the same issues. Those of us required to pay social security will also be getting the shaft on a deal that wasn't nearly as sweet... You know, those people who don't get summers and many holidays and vacation weeks off? Those same folks who retire with a pittance of their salary compared to the sweetheart deal the teachers are supposed to get will be short on sympathy to agree you are being treated unfairly. So tell me, how are those unions working for you these days? How much are dues? I'd say they are next to go just as other states have managed to get rid of them and maybe that isn't the worst thing cause it doesn't seem they have been able to do much to prevent the teachers retirement fund from getting depleted by the politicians. Maybe the dues should have come from the retirement funds to begin with and I bet this would have hit the fan long ago!

You know what they say - if a deal looks to good to be true it probably is!

It's unfortunate that education has been the target of government manipulation since they convinced the Illinois taxpayers that the lottery would bring the additional revenue needed to make Illinois schools strong and some of the best in the nation. What a farce! The Illinois politicians have been playing with the retirement funds since the early 70's, as control of the assets was used as bargaining tools between bankers and politicians. I support the teachers in the area. They pay the greatest percentage into their pensions, and do not get their healthcare taken care of when they retire like the politicians. We could save huge dollars by revamping the political system benefits. (You know... the ones that want an exemption from Obama Care.) I see no mention from Quinn regarding the police and fire department pensions, the political pensions, etc. I applaud this teacher for voicing her opinion. The government of Illinois is seriously behind on payments to our schools and if anyone has attended a school board meeting in the past year, you will begin to understand the damage Illinois is causing to our public school system.
Vote them out! Illinois has stolen the money from school funds to buy political power with free cell phones programs to low income individuals, insurance programs, etc. Cut the waste and not the earned benefits of hard working citizens. Who's next on Quinn's chopping block? Again, time to vote them all out.

The 72 above comments clearly show the outrage with the politicians and their systemic rape of the taxpayers. Kinda reminds you of the mid-1700's when the King of England was raping the colonists. And that's why so many politicians want to outlaw arms - to prevent another revolt. We are not citizens any more. We are subjects.

The facet of this debate which goes overlooked is how we will be viewed as a state by business. The pensions that have been given, have been guarenteed under the Illinois Constitution. They are a matter of law. What the governor is proposing is in violation of Illinois' constitution and therefore illegal. From the perspective of companies contemplating doing business in Illinois, a state that does not honor its contractual agreements is not a state that can be trusted.