Palatine Patch | Study: Former Palatine Employees Among Top Illinois Pensioners

Findings from TUA’s Illinois pension project are featured in this story from the Palatine Patch.
Two former District 15 employees and one former District 211 employee made the Taxpayers United of America list of top 200 pensioners in Illinois, according to the study that was released last week.
John G. Conyers, who retired from Palatine District 15 at the age of 57, receives an annual pension of $244,778. To date, Conyers has collected $2,014,291 in total pension payments. He is expected to receive $7.746 million in estimated pension payout over his lifetime, according to the study.
Robert A. McKanna, also retired from District 15, receives an annual pension of $191,382. McKanna, who retired at the age of 65, has received $840,556 in total pension payments to date. He is expected to receive over $4 million in total pension payments over his lifetime, according to the study.
Palatine Township High School District 211 retiree Gerald D. Chapman also made the TUA list. Chapman, who retired at the age of 57, receives an annual pension payment of $211,270 and is expected to bring in over $6.62 million in total pension payout over his lifetime.
In Illinois, six-figure pensions grew by 47 percent in one year to 9,900, said TUA president Jim Tobin in the press release. The top 200 pensions are all over $189,000 per year, according to the study.
“The purpose of our study is to put some perspective around individual pensions, to put them in terms to which the average taxpayer can relate,” Tobin said in the news release. “Illinois taxpayers, whose average household income is $53,234, and struggle with 9.3% unemployment need to know how much Illinois’ government retirees are being paid not to work and the astronomical accumulation of those payments over an average lifetime.”
Tapas Das Gupta, retired from the University of Illinois at Chicago, collected $439,672 in his last annual pension payment and will accumulate $5.2 million in lifetime pension payments.
Beverly Lopatka retired from DuPage Government High School District 88 receives an annual pension of $399,652, and should receive a lifetime payout of $11,524,643. Larry K. Fleming, retired from government school district Lincolnshire-Prairie View 103, is estimated to receive the highest lifetime payout of $11,868,155.
TUA call from sweeping reform in the pension system in Illinois. TUA estimates over 25,000 six-figure pensioners by 2020 if changes are not made, according to the TUA news release.