Northbrook, IL – Government teacher salaries and pensions are too rich for even the wealthiest taxpayers, according to Illinois’ most tenured tax fighter, and president and founder of Taxpayers United of America (TUA), Jim Tobin.
“Glenbrook HSD 225 is a prime example of bloated government teacher pensions. All of the top 200 pensions for this district are more than $115,000 a year while the average per capita income in Northbrook is only $67,306. On average, teachers are employed only about 27 years before they are eligible to retire and collect full pensions. And it’s not like they have to work into their golden years to qualify. The average age of an Illinois teacher at retirement is only 57!”
“The TRS is only about 50% funded, and this is what the proposed Pritzker income-theft amendment is all about. Today’s tax revenue, as massive as it is, is paying for the education of yesterday’s students in the form of pensions. In his infinite wisdom, Gov. Jay Robert ‘J. B.’ Pritzker has placed a constitutional amendment to restructure Illinois’ flat rate income tax to a graduated income tax. This graduated tax will decimate the middle-class and will eliminate the income-tax protection of retirement pay in the current constitution.”
“Between the mass exodus of Illinois residents to more tax friendly states and the huge loss of jobs and income from the Pritzker’s unconstitutional lockdown that’s just been reinstated, Illinois’ middle-class will virtually disappear.”
“Here a just a few of the bloated government teacher pensions in Glenbrook HSD 225:
Jean B. McGrew retired from HSD 225. Her current annual pension is $259,090. With the 3% compounded COLA, she will receive about $4,088,668 over a normal lifetime. Her personal investment in that stunning payout is only about 5%.
Michael D. Riggle, who administered over the school’s largest scandal regarding hazing, has a current annual pension of $195,113. He will collect about $6,479,384 in estimated lifetime pension payments.
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“Illinois government employees are only employed for about 20.1 years on average in order to collect these unrealistic pensions. And for every dollar they deposit in their own pension fund, taxpayers are forced to fork over $4.74. Add to that a 3% COLA, compounded for all but IMRF, and it doesn’t take a genius to understand why Illinois’ government pensions are insolvent.”
“Rather than put an income theft amendment on the ballot, Pritzker should have pushed for a pension reform amendment because these outrageous pensions are protected by the state constitution. Enough is enough,” said Tobin.
