Reprehensible!
A pension reform bill pending in the Illinois House would substantially cut pension contributions and reduce the unfunded liability faced by the pension system. This is how they are going to do it — by changing the pension cost of living adjustments, raising the age to retire, and causing those to pay more for their pension benefits. Plus they are going to shift the cost of the downstate teacher pensions to the local school district.
Who are the people in the local school district that are going to pay for these costs — the former teachers? Already the new teachers are going to bear a lot of the burden. Why don’t they say that it is going to be attached to the property tax of the homeowner? The local school district is funded by property taxes.
This means that the property homeowner is going to pay for the $95 billion cost they are going to raise, which in turn will cover the politicians butts. It is sickening to know that when they need money to cover their butts, these politicians dip into the pockets of the property owners. Shame on them.
I have a decent question to ask the politicians: Why should taxpayers who don’t receive pension benefits that politicians gave to their constituents have to pay taxes for those who receive these benefits? These taxpayers, who have no pension benefits, have taken care of their needs with Social Security payments and their own savings.
In Egypt they overthrew President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, and now they are throwing rocks and everything at Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood who is now in charge. People in Egypt throw rocks and tomatoes at the government offices until they (the people in power — politicians) change what they are proposing.
In this country, there will be many politicians who will fall from grace. It’s time we go down to Springfield and throw rocks at those who proposed this legislation. The politicians who initially made these decisions to bankrupt the state of Illinois should be the ones who are to bear this burden.
Evil triumphs when good people remain silent. To be silent on this – pension reform bill — is morally reprehensible. We are the people who should rise to the occasion and demand this should not be placed on the backs of the taxpayer.
Take away all the benefits to those politicians who voted for these pension costs. It is always easy to get people to vote for you when you give them excessive benefits. Now the chickens have come home to roost. The political Santa Clauses are finished with their excessive benefits.
We in this area are going to be taxed out of existence with a proposed new school in Spring Valley, also with taxes for grade schools, villages, fire district, the new IVCC building and now paying for pension benefits, etc., etc. Where is this going to end — with another Great Depression because of the failure of the taxpayers ability to pay?
Carlo Olivero
Dalzell
