SPRINGFIELD – Last week, the Illinois Supreme Court in favor of a perk that benefits only government employees that work for their unions. It will cost Illinois taxpayers millions.
The Illinois Policy Institute explains:
Pension benefits are typically calculated as a percentage of a retiree’s government salary near the end of employment, with a higher percentage of salary granted based on years of service. But for certain retired Chicago union leaders, their pensions will instead be based on their union salaries, which were higher than what they earned in their positions with their government employers. As a result, their pensions will be nearly three times higher than the typical retired city worker, according to a 2011 report from the Chicago Tribune.
The Tribune estimated the cost of 23 such pensions at $56 million.
Since the city of Chicago and the Chicago Board of Education are not responsible for setting union salaries, the resulting higher pension costs were ultimately unpredictable for public officials and taxpayers alike. The General Assembly effectively outsourced responsibility for setting public pension benefits to a nongovernmental third party: unions.
More HERE.
