Emanuel socks city retirees with 40 percent health insurance hike ( Chicago )

Chicago Sun Times ^ | 09/12/2014 | Fran Spielman

[george76]

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Friday dropped another financial bombshell on Chicago’s 25,000 retired city workers and their dependents: their monthly health insurance premiums will be going up by a whopping 40 percent — in spite of a pending lawsuit and a precedent-setting Illinois Supreme Court ruling.

Last year, Emanuel announced plans to save $108.7 million a year by phasing out the city’s 55 percent subsidy for retiree health care and forcing retirees to make the switch to Obamacare.

For the city, the Year One savings was $25 million. For retirees, that translated into an increase in monthly health insurance premiums in the 20 percent and 30 percent-range.

On Friday, city retirees and their dependents got hit again — only this time, even harder. The city notified them of a 30-percent to 40-percent increase that will cost most of the retirees between another $300 to $400 a month.

[oh8eleven]

These must be really gold-plated plans, if they now cost $1400 a month and are still subsidized.
The retirees were public employees - they deserved it ... and the taxpayers paid for it.

[SunkenCiv]

> on Chicago’s 25,000 retired city workers and their dependents... Last year, Emanuel announced plans to save $108.7 million a year by phasing out the city’s 55 percent subsidy for retiree health care and forcing retirees to make the switch to Obamacare.

IOW, shifting the burden off taxpayers onto those who actually use the benefit (oh, and upon US taxpayers).

[ncpatriot]

Don’t retirees have to get on Medicare?

[Catsrus]

Probably all of them and they will continue to vote D - the definition of insanity rests its case.

[RetiredTexasVet]

Probably not a good idea to bend over and cough around Rahm.

[EVO X]

Don’t retirees have to get on Medicare?

Not before 65. There are old timer government workers that never paid into medicare and the rely on the government entity to assist in paying for their health care. It gets rather complicated. If a spouse is eligible for medicare then the other that isn't gets kicked into medicare...

[sheana]

I don’t know about Chicago but my hubby is a retired county firefighter in California. We pay $700 a month for his insurance. I was on his insurance til I found it cheaper elsewhere and for the 2 of us it was $1300 per month, and that was before all the increases.

[Joe Boucher]

obammy lies about nearly every damn thing.

[yorkiemom]

“I don’t know about Chicago but my hubby is a retired county firefighter in California. We pay $700 a month for his insurance. I was on his insurance til I found it cheaper elsewhere and for the 2 of us it was $1300 per month, and that was before all the increases.”

Ouch. Do you have copays on top of that?

[sheana]

Yep plenty of copays. It’s also a PPO and you have to have referrals and then pre-authorization before you can get anything done.....which means even more copays to more docs.
They also have a habit of denying just about anything special you need done and the docs have to fight the insurance company for you.
It sucks.

[Liz]

THIS MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD shortly after quitting his powerful WH job as Obama's COS, Rahm held a presser declaring he "just remembered" he really, Really wanted to be Mayor of Chicago. Then Rahm announced he had magically "raised" $10 million for his campaign in "just a matter of weeks." (waiting for hysterical laughter to die down). Ya gotta wonder how much Wall Street Rahm wired offshore when Obama put him in charge of the entire US Treasury.

(Rahmbo was also COS while at Treasury---the multi-tasking little devil.)

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Rahm Emanuel takes over Chicago / May 16, 2011

EDITED EXCERPT .... an exciting time in the inbred world of Chicago Democratic politics.... Democratic don, Richard M. Daley ruled for 22 years, inheriting the mayoralty from his father, Mayor Richard J. Daley who held on for a generation. Now the ex-chief of staff of Chicagoan Barack Obama (once a state Senator, now president) was installed. US Treasury Secy Tim Geithner was there, and so was Chicagoan David Axelrod, an O team player.

BTW, Mayor Daley's former chief of staff, Valerie Jarrett, hired Obama's wife, Michelle, to work in Chicago City Hall. Jarret is now ensconced as Obama's chief policy advisor. In Chicago gangland parlance, "chief policy advisor" means "wire-transfer artist".

Mayor Emanuel's innovative ways commenced early on---his organization was getting $50G's for the best seats at the inauguration (mmmm........that accounts for another couple million scammed from Treasury).

The mayoralty (and its--cough--"benefits") is a job Emanuel has coveted since he was a machine go-fer back in the 1980s.....before he became Bill Clinton's national campaign finance chairman and then a dual role as senior White House aide and Goldman Sachs lobbyist and then (gasp) becoming a multi-millionaire, thanks to a measly few months at a local investment firm...then a (gag) Congressman for four terms---then White House chief of staff for Obama that helped create the 2010 Republican House landslide.

SOURCE http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/05/rahm-emanuel-new-chicago-mayor-tim-geithner.html

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ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHICAGOLAND Rev Jeremiah's Wright's beloved daughter was convicted for looting a $1.25 million state grant which financed a tax-exempt, not-for-profit work and education program called "We Are Our Brother's Keeper," owned by Regina Evans, former police chief of Country Club Hills, and her husband, Ronald Evans Jr.

<><> 6/8/13 Police Chief Regina Evans (above) pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges related to the misuse of a $1.25 million state grant to the non-profit organization she ran with her husband, Ronald Evans Jr.

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BACKUP---October 11, 2011 ---- Police Chief Regina Evans Resigns

COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. (CBSLOCAL.COM) Country Club Hills Mayor said that negotiations were underway to clear the way for the resignation of police Chief Regina Evans, in office for about two years,

<><> Regina Evans was on (ahem) disability leave since August 2011,

<><> it was earlier reported that Illinois AG's office is suing Regina Evans' n/p over its handling of state job training grant worth more than $500,000.

<><> Evans also signed off on invoices for a controversial summer camp where the campers — including children of aldermen who voted for it — got paid to attend (Chicago-way--"redistribution of income").

<><> Most recently, Evans came under fire for overseeing a 2011 part-time police program where 10 part-time police officers were hired.... bur that many had questionable backgrounds, and weren’t qualified to do police work. They were ordered to turn in their guns and badges (got high-paid city sanitation jobs).

The SouthtownStar contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire.

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"My Brother's Keeper" scam rears its ugly head in Washington.

WASH/POST---Community lenders’ network commits to lend $1 billion in support of Obama's ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ / By Zachary A. Goldfarb, March 6, 2014

A network of (ahem) community lenders is committing to lending (?) $1 billion in support of President Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative that aims to boost the life chances of young African and Hispanic men.

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Yawn.....just goes to show: there's always a sap-happy Dem/Lib willing to say they're "for" their fellow-man---and conniving to make a buck on it.

[bert]

Death, the ax, the firing squad, the noose, is the only real solution to crimes of this magnitude.