-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
The departure of Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, highlights one example of how pension sweeteners Illinois lawmakers passed decades ago are putting taxpayers on the hook for extravagant benefits today.
Cullerton is set to receive more than $2 million in state pension payments over the course of his retirement, should he live to age 85. He will take home nearly $4.2 million if he lives to age 95, which is $1.3 million more than he would have received without the special sweetener.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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Maybe a WHISTLEBLOWER who was wearing a wire found out that Cullerton was part of a COLLUSION. If so would his pension be REDACTED? There would be no IMPEACHMENT since he voluntarily retired. Maybe there is some evidence of QUID PRO QUO! With all this going on he could suffer from an OBSTRUCTION would then the taxpayer then be liable for medical bills? Just curious! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!