Tune in to Champion News Talk Radio – Every Sunday a 8AM on WIND 560-AM. Our guest this week is Bill Zettler, Author of “Illinois Pension Scam.”
Bill is Director of Research for the Family Taxpayers Foundation and has researched and written over 150 articles on Illinois public salaries and pensions since 2005. Over the past 30 years, Zettler has been owner or principal of three different software companies.
In his well-documented and provocative book, Bill Zettler debunks the common myths about why Illinois is last in pension funding. According to Zettler, collusion between public sector unions and Illinois politicians has resulted in more than 130 benefit increases since 1970. Those benefit enhancements and their costs have been underplayed by both the public sector unions and the politicians. Currently, there are over 6,700 pensions in excess of $100,000/yr. These pension benefits are growing at a rate of over 20%/yr. Zettler uses publicly available information on salaries and pensions to develop a powerful argument for immediate restrictions on Illinois public salaries and pensions in order to bring them into line with the private sector and to prevent the state from bankrupting Illinois’ children’s future.
Top Stories
SSRO: The Few *** The Proud *** The Superminority
After sending a letter (below) to the 19 members of the new superminority Republicans in the Illinois Senate, 13 members decided to abandon the grass roots and the donors by electing their same leader (see letter below). 12 members voted for Senator Rodogno and one member pretended to be there by voting for someone not running for the position.
Many Republicans are disgusted with the results and will be looking for explanations. It would be wise to consider unifying the base rather than by pretending to unify a caucus without a cause. Continue Reading….
Which State is the Best Run? Worst Run State? See the Rankings
24/7 Wall St. has released its ranking of the best and worst run states. These rankings will not be a surprise to many. Illinois is of course one of the worst run states. Continue reading…
Outrageous Superintendent Perks – $75,000 Home Loan Forgiven
With all the teacher strikes this year in Illinois and the outrageous demands of many of them, the administration gets lost in the shuffle. The story by Lisa Black in the Chicago Tribune this weekend uncovers a completely outrageous example of superintendent perks gone wild. Below are some of the perks the taxpayers are paid for before and after his retirement:
- Forgave $75,000 home loan
- Twice yearly travel to educators conference at California oceanfront resort
- Gave him free car at retirement
