No wonder Illinois can't pay its bills

Does anyone wonder why Illinois is bankrupt (or almost)? Just take a look at this craziness, and then try to figure out why we are ever going to figure out how to extricate ourselves from this mess.

Subject: Retiree Gets $224,000 Pension For 18 Years Worked

A reader sent this information to me, and the subject line certainly got my attention. Here's the gist of it.

Free-lane writer and consultant Bill Zettler published a story on July 14 at www.championnews.net/listzettler.php Look for the headline: "Retiree Gets $224,000 Pension for 18 Years Worked"

Can $29,238 get you $3.5 Million in pension payments? I think some of us were at the airport when our ship was coming in. Too bad we missed it.

John Conyers worked in the Palatine (Ill.) Elementary District 15 for 18 years and now has a pension of $224,006/year after retiring in 2003. Pretty good deal; right?

Conyers used years worked and salary earned in another state, sick leave credit and made a discounted contribution to meet the requirements for his huge annual pension benefit.

He benefited from an outrageous final salary schedule - 58% increase over 3 years:
· 2000 - $223,000
· 2001 - $250,000
· 2002 - $300,000
· 2003 - $353,000

According to Zettler, Conyers has "... 30 years service credit (only 18 work years) at 2.2% per year or 66% of the average of his last four years or about $185,000 pension to start with, increased by 3% per year leaves him with $224,000 pension today.

"If he had received his pension only on the 18 years he actually worked his starting pension would have been about $110,000, bad enough but a lot better than $185,000."

"So how much did Mr. Conyers have to pay to increase his pension by $75,000/yr? Exactly $29,338.27, less than one-half of the first years increase."

That's one heck of an R-O-I, isn't it?

Zettler gives other examples in his article. A 13-year Winnetka School District employee who is sucking up $164,000/year. Eighty (80) K-12 retirees who worked less than 30 years for $100,000+ pensions.

Go on; read his full article. I dare you. Then ask yourself: where do you want to be living when Illinois declares bankruptcy? If your answer is "Illinois", then you'd better get on the phone on Monday to Sen. Althoff and Reps. Mike Tryon and Jack Franks.