Letter: Teachers Don’t Deserve SB 512

The State Journal-Register

Posted Nov 06, 2011 @ 11:00 PM

Legislators returning to Springfield on Tuesday will attempt to pass SB 512, which effectively reduces the pension benefits of current Illinois teachers. Unfortunately, sponsors Tyrone Fahner, president of the Chicago Civic Committee, and our elected legislative leaders Tom Cross and Michael Madigan are not only ignoring the Illinois Constitution pension protection clause but also the following facts:

*SB 512 will violate the Early Retirement Option agreement teachers have paid for in addition to their regular pension payment. This agreement allows teachers to retire under their current pension benefit plan at age 55 and 35 years. (Imagine making extra payments on your mortgage to pay it off early and then being told the rules have changed and none of them count.)

*SB 512 will destroy current teachers’ only retirement plan by increasing their contributions and making it unaffordable for them. (Illinois teachers already pay more for their pension than all other states but six.) Legislators will admit they have no idea how many teachers would be able to stay in their current retirement plan if this bill is passed.

*SB 512 will cost Illinois taxpayers $34 billion in 15 years.

*SB 512 will fail to pay down the pension debt and has little relation to standard actuarial practices

Correcting some of the propaganda reported by the Chicago Civic Committee:

*Teachers do not receive an overly generous pension but only average when compared to 85 other public employee retirement systems nationwide.

*Teachers do not receive a full pension after 20 years, but only what is earned.

*Teachers do not receive free retirement health insurance, an average teacher has $577 deducted each month from their retirement check.

*Teachers do not receive any retirement cost-of-living adjustment until after age 61 and no Social Security later.

It is unconscionable for legislators to change the pensions of nearly 136,000 current public school teachers. The teachers of Illinois do not deserve this!