CHICAGO—Chicago’s retired government employees receive lavish, gold-plated pensions, and, according to Jim Tobin, President of the Illinois Taxpayer Education Foundation (ITEF), the real reason Governor Quinn signed the $500,000,000 Chicago property tax increase is to pump more taxpayer dollars into the extravagant pensions of these retired Chicago government employees.
“Those receiving the largest annual pensions are retired Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) employees, whose average pension is $57,600!” said Tobin. Of the 1,601 pensioners in the MWRD fund, the largest annual pension went to Osoth Jamjun, whose annual pension was $181,392 — $15,116 a month. Joseph P Sobanski, not only received an annual pension of $180,855, but his last salary while working for the MWRD was an extravagant $229,320.”
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OTTAWA–LaSalle County-area retired government employees receive lavish, gold-plated pensions, and, according to Jim Tobin, Chairman of the Illinois Taxpayer Education Foundation (ITEF), the real reason Springfield politicians passed the 67% state income tax increase is to pump more taxpayer dollars into the floundering pension plans of retired government employees, including those from LaSalle County.
“Those receiving the largest annual pensions are retired government-school educators,” said Tobin, “and the state income tax increase pumps even more tax dollars into these pension funds. LaSalle County’s retired public school teachers in the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) are really raking it in. The largest annual TRS pension went to James C. Bagley, formerly of Peru Elementary SD 124, whose annual pension is $122,491 — $10,208 a month. Charles E. Hager, formerly of Streator TWP HSD 40, not only received an annual pension of $86,219, but already has collected $1,810,595 in pension payments.”
Jim Tobin speaks to the Ottawa press at the historic Reddick Mansion on January 25, 2011. In 1858, the Reddick Mansion was where the Lincoln-Douglas debate took place.
CHICAGO–Jim Tobin, President of National Taxpayers United of Illinois (NTUI), today released the latest pension study of pension researcher Bill Zettler: the Top Fifty pensions received by former members of the Illinois General Assembly.
“Governor Quinn and the lame duck General Assembly are desperate to increase tax revenues any way they can to ensure that these outrageous, lavish pensions are available to themselves when they retire.Under the current pension program, General Assembly members are guaranteed to be millionaires if they can collect for only eight to ten years.Protecting this rite of passage has become their highest priority, despite the terrible financial situation in which most Illinoisans find themselves.Under the guise of securing the financial future of the Illinois general fund, Quinn and his conspirators are trying to push any tax increases that they can.”
