No shame: Bill to loot pensions for pols revived in Illinois legislature

Sometimes the shameless venality of public officials in Illinois is blatant that it is almost amusing. Currently, the state legislature is considering overriding the veto of outgoing Republican Bruce Rauner of a bill that would in effect loot the pension fund for firefighters to increase the take of politicians. Keep in mind that “As of fiscal year 2017, Chicago’s fire pension fund had less than 21 cents on hand for every dollar owed in benefits,” according to the Illinois Policy Institute. The details are: House Bill 5342, a proposal sponsored by state Rep. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, that would provide an exclusive pension boost to Chicago aldermen who formerly worked for the Chicago Fire Department. The bill would amend the Illinois Pension Code by redefining “active fireman” under the Chicago Firefighter Article to include former firemen currently serving on the Chicago City Council.

As they say in Chicago, “Yeah, riiiight.” Sitting on your butt though council meetings really is exactly like risking your life to fight fires. The reason that the aldermen want on the pension gravy train with more seniority is that those pensions are particularly generous – which is why there is not enough money on hand to pay them. The reason those pensions are so high is that the unions were bought off by promises to pay them. Pols traded them for votes. But it was like a Ponzi scheme, with the money running out. And now, the pols have the audacity to grab even more for themselves before it goes bust. Welcome to Illinois.I wish I could say that it is uniquely corrupt, but hey, I live in California. It isjust as bad, but on a bigger scale.