30,000 Six-Figure Illinois Educators Cost Taxpayers $3.7 Billion
Posted on 04/17/2020 7:01:07 PM PDT by Theoria
The president of the State Senate asked for $40 billion to help the pension system, fund unemployment insurance and aid hospitals and cities.
Illinois needs more than $40 billion in relief from the federal government because of the coronavirus pandemic — including $10 billion to help bail out its beleaguered pension system, according to a letter the Illinois Senate president sent to members of Congress.
The letter, sent this week by State Senator Don Harmon, also seeks a $15 billion grant to “stabilize the state’s budget,” $9.6 billion in direct aid to Illinois’s cities, $6 billion for the state’s unemployment insurance fund, and hardship money for hospitals and nursing homes, among other things.
“I realize I’ve asked for a lot, but this is an unprecedented situation,” Mr. Harmon, a Democrat, wrote in the letter to the state’s congressional delegation, a copy of which was viewed by The New York Times. A spokesman confirmed that Mr. Harmon had written the letter.
The letter was shared with Gov. J.B. Pritzker, also a Democrat, who said this week that the federal government should provide more funding to states. Messages left for State Senator Bill Brady, the minority leader, were not immediately returned on Friday evening. Democrats hold 40 of the State Senate's 59 seats.
The letter said the outbreak had caused economic havoc in the state, which has been under a stay-home order since March 21. Economic activity has frozen up across the country, causing tax collections to evaporate while spending has soared.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The problem for many public employee pensions is that they federal safety net doesn't provide enough benefits for public employees.
When United Airlines went bankrupt may pilots, who were use to 6-figure salaries and were expecting similar pensions found out that they couldn't live the lifestyle they expected under PBGC payouts.
Say what? They don't want a lifeline or safety net that was made available for others? Oh, my they are privileged people. Look what we the tax payers are willing to do that isn't good enough.
“....PBGC’s guarantee is based on a pension for each year of service a person earns under his or her pension plan. As a monthly benefit amount, we guarantee a payment equal to:
100% of the first $11 of the plan's monthly benefit rate, plus 75% of the next $33 of the monthly benefit rate,
times the participant's years of credited service.
If the plan provides a benefit of more than $44 per month per year of service, the guarantee disregards that higher level.
PBGC’s maximum monthly guarantee, therefore, is $35.75 per month (($11 x 100%) + ($33 x 75%) = $35.75) times a participant's years of credited service.
The guaranteed benefit is not adjusted for inflation or cost-of-living increases.......”
https://www.pbgc.gov/about/factsheets/page/multi-facts
So the issue is public employees and Illinois don't want to either fund the public employee benefits or claw back some of the benefits State & local government gave to public employees. If the State can't pay, then there is a default organization in place. However it pays even less. The obvious solution is “Uncle Sugar.”
I hope Congress can just say NO.
Southern Illinois, university pension, about to retire, but I’ll settle for whatever the state ends up with.
No bailout for corrupt states.
Not one cent!!
No bailout for corrupt states.
Not one cent!!
...................................................
Or cities, NYC alone wants an $8.5 Bil. fed bail out. I’ve lived with Illinois corruption for over 50 years, I’m as sick of as anybody. As long as Chicago exists it will continue to stink up the whole state.
30,000 Six-Figure Illinois Educators Cost Taxpayers $3.7 Billion
“...Illinois needs more than $40 billion in relief from the federal government because of the coronavirus pandemic — including $10 billion to help bail out its beleaguered pension system...”
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No, NOT A SINGLE PENNY!
Ray Charles could see this one coming a mile away.
NYS was $6+ in the hole before WuFlu was ever an issue.
Note to the nation: If the rest of you are dumb enough to sanction bailouts for states like mine, you need your heads examined.
The only way Democrat areas can stay Democrat, is by infusions of cash to support the welfare class.
Let them collapse.
This needs to be Amended allow state to create their own money. Money in Texas should not be worth the same as money in Illinois. The fiscally unsound states will have massive inflation WHICH THEY SHOULD.....
It can't be successfully funded. Time to make some decisions, Illinois.
It's time we ensure they run out of other people's money to spend.
The taxpayers in the United States should not give any money to a state in order to bail out their pension plan.
In this case Illinois created their own problem by creating lavish pension plans without providing a way for the people of Illinois to fund it.
It’s going to happen. Brace yourself.
No bailouts to any state that is keeping ‘none essential’ businesses closed for any reason.
You can solve the problem by changing the constitution.
I believe they’ve tried all those things. They’re already insolvent, issuing IOUs to lottery winners.
You sound like a real MAGA guy :-)
I just hope they don’t try to make it up in property taxes.
Our little home in Il (1700 sq ft) already has a tax bill of 2700.00/yr
We just bought it a few months ago, it was a HUD repo and we just paid 50,000 for it...so 2700.00/yr is mighty steep.
Great area here in Marion and we are friends with all our neighbors so I guess we will stay...although we are looking at homes in Panama City FL thinking about having a place to go to in winter.
Hope your SIU pension comes through for you.
It's our job to insure they just say no.
I am 80 years old & was raised in Wisconsin.
Illinois was corrupt as could b e when I was in high school-—over 63 years go.
Illinois has a constitutional protection for public pensions. This structural defect must be removed before ANY pension relief aid.”””
Pretty sure Illinois is NOT the only state with such rules.
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