Government School Employees and Retirees of Wayne County Revel at Taxpayer Expense

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WAYNE COUNTY–A new report by Taxpayers United of America (TUA) reveals that many government school employees and retirees of Wayne County, Illinois receive lavish, gold-plated salaries and pensions that far exceed average annual wages of workers in the private sector.
“These outrageous government-employee pensions are bankrupting the state,” said Jim Tobin, TUA President. “Springfield House and Senate Democrats just temporarily raised the state personal income tax 67%, all $6.8 billion taxpayer dollars of which is being used to fund the state’s lavish retired government employee pension programs.”
“Despite Wayne County’s 8.1% unemployment rate, public school employees are really raking it in,” said Tobin. “The largest salary goes to David Savage, of Fairfield Comm HS District 225, whose annual salary is $116,076. Jeffery Mitchell, of Wayne County CUSD 100, is close behind, making $105,450.”
“Wayne County’s retired public school teachers in the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) are also getting rich” said Tobin. “The largest annual TRS pension goes to Gilbert D Hanneken formerly of Fairfield Public SD 112, whose annual pension is a staggering $116,957.64– $9746 a month. Donald E. Warkins, formerly of Fairfield CHSD 225, already has received a total pension payout of $949,839.
Those in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), which is funded by our property taxes, are collecting lavish pensions. One of the largest IMRF pensions in Wayne County goes to Warren Schramer, formerly of the Wayne Township, who has made $142,613 off of his pension to date, and is still collecting $34,519 annually. Thomas Cannon, also formerly of the City of Berwyn, collects a pension of $27,215 a year. To date Cannon has raked in an accumulated $391,507.
These retired government employees are sucking the system dry. But the four-year state income tax surcharge can be allowed to expire without cutting government services if the proper reformations are taken.