17 Comments - Well-heeled tourist - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 5:15 am: “Simply Magnificent”: That slogan puts me in a happy state. When I hear that slogan, I feel like I’m a million miles from Monday. There’s a slogan outside Chicago called “Simply Magnificent”. If there’s a TV commercial that uses that slogan, Don’t Miss It. - Anonymous - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 6:29 am: Simply magnificent? Are they tlking about all of Illinois or just Chicago? Ge, in this Chicago-only administration, I wonder. I ponder. I muse. - Anonymous - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 6:30 am: Daley + jobs = Blag + jobs. Neither one of them knows anything. - Blue collar man - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 7:39 am: Worked for the state a long time, was hoping that the broken merit Comp system would be fixed by Rod. He’s made it even worse. He’s the best thing to happen to AFSCME in that he’s driven so many state workers to union membership. Helps us organize his removal. - Cassandra - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 8:26 am: It’s about time some politician cracked down on exorbitant salaries for state MC employees. When you take into account the increasing value of their health and pension benefits in today’s world, most are making six figures. They have ironclad job security…it’s impossible to fire them unless they commit a crime. And in many agencies, there is little real work for them to do. And little real oversight or performance review (for example, read the current DCFS audit regarding employee performance reviews in that agency, or rather the lack thereof). This is not to say that there are not outstanding individuals working in these sinecures. But they are rare and it’s their choice whether to work or not….expectations are low. Just as school systems across the country are starting to look at pay for performance not just for showing up (ProComp in Denver is example), Blago, who is likely going to win because Topinka can’t get a campaign going, would do Illinoisians a favor by putting all MC empployees on a pay for performance only system and by elminating “term” appointments and reducing the number of lifetime MC positions in state government. Money saved could be transferred straight into the schools, preschools, something that taxpayers can actual get some benefit from. - Just the Facts Cassandra - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 9:28 am: I rarely comment, but Cassandra’s uninformed rants about merit compensation employees are becoming tiresome. I am not a state employee - I’m in the private sector, but I was employed in state goverment for a number of years. There are essentially three classes of merit comp employees; exempt employees who have no civil service protection, term employees who are appointed to a four year term and who may be terminated at the end of that term for any reason or no reason, and those employees who have civil service protection. The overwhelming majority of the political hires of any administration are placed into exempt positions. Some of them are good and competent people and some are not. It depends upon he administration and the amount of oversight exercised by the agency directors. With respect to term appointments, when the process works the way it should these folks are the technical experts in particular agencies. For example, program supervisors and supervising attorneys at many state agencies. The four year term appointments provide a limited amount of insulation from partisan politics and can (when the process works as it should) allow these folks to provide the exempt employees and the agency directors with the advice and counsel they need to know, rather than the answers that the policy makers want to hear. Are there some incompetent political types among the term appointments - of course there are. However, the four year term process allows them to be winnowed out. The overwhelming majority of these folks are dedicated career employees who deserve the respect of the public. They are the people who, along with the civil service folks make the state agencies run on a day-to-day basis. Finally, the civil service folks are the non-supervisory (or low level supervisory) career state employees. Yes it is difficult to remove someone from one of these positions, but it should be difficult to remove someone from these positions. These are also career employees who obtain and maintain the necessary institutional knowledge to make government run. None of these folks, with the exception of some of the exempt political types are compensated at an exorbitant rate. They make significantly less than do people in the private sector. Why do they stay? They stay for many of the same reasons that people stay in jobs long term in the private sector. Many people in the agencies believe that what they do provides a benefit to the public at large and they achieve satisfaction from their jobs. It’s not for the money, and initially at least it is not for the benefits. Do the benefits (e.g. pensions) need to be modified for new employees in order to address the cost issues? Of course they need to be changed. However, as usual the members of both political parties in the General Assembly have not shown any inclination to do anything substantive. Why haven’t they done anything? Because it hasn’t devolved into enough of a “crisis” to provide them with enough political cover to do anything. Last year’s pension “reform” proposals included a suggestion that all new state employees should no longer be included in the current state pension system and provided for some alternatives to the current pension system for new employees. That would have been a good long-term fix. Why didn’t it happen? It’s a long-term solution and legislators will generally never do anything with long-term benefit that doesn’t have immediate political benefits. They will certainly never do anything that has a long-term benefit with an immediate political liability. AFSME was opposed to the changes. The Governor and the Democratic majority in the House and Senate didn’t want to fight AFSME over something that wouldn’t have immediate benefit. Therefore, nothing was done. The current Governor determined early that it is politically expedient to beat up the merit comp employees. They aren’t represented by anyone and their only recourse is to to leave state service. Blago has assumed, correctly, that because these folks are powerless, he can score political capital by refusing to give them raises and pandering to the uninformed public by bashing them. He knows that at the same time enough of these folks will stick around while hoping that they can survive until he is no longer Governor. Instead of jumping on the Blago “let’s bash state employees” bandwagon those folks like Cassandra who share in their opposition to the current administration should dig a bit below the surface rhetoric and not be taken in by inaccurate generalizations. - Navin Johnson - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 10:37 am: I’ve noticed an interesting trend. Whenever a good thing happens in Chicago the Mayor is a detail oriented manager who was deeply involved in bringing the good thing about. Whenever someting bad happens in Chicago he is “just the Mayor” whose head is in the clouds, completely unaware of how anything gets done in his name. The bad thing is the result of a few bad apples, even when indictments top 30 in number. It is always amusing to watch hands on pragmatic politians slowly morph their public image at the direction of their lawyers and spin masters into hapless Barney Fife type figures. I’m not guilty, I’m incompetent! - Bubs - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 11:55 am: Whoa, read that article on the Mayor! That sworn statement is from LAST YEAR. He said the hires were not ordered, but the Feds have since found out that they were indeed ordered. Did I just hear someone say “I am not a crook?” - Wheres the leadership??? - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 1:49 pm: Cassandra, how old are you, and what do you do for a living? Do you have any background in Government? Could you even pass the personnel test to get a job? I asked because you are clueless when it comes to how hard MC employees work and the garbage like this they constantly have to put up with from uninformed people like you. I am a 20 year MC employee (PSA) that works anywhere between 45-50 hours a week without OT. I have had 1 raise in what 5 years and have sat by watching union staff (and of course Lawmakers and other elected officials) get raise after raise after raise. I have 10 people working for me and 9 of them make more than I do. I have had excellent job evaluations for the past 10 years in my job. The great benefits you speak about….While the Legislative Retirement System is of course funded 100% annually; our pension is being used to balance the budget, and will probably fall in the same line as the social security system and will fail long before I am able to retire. I have a family, a house 5 year old cars and kids in school. While I (and other MC Employees) have gone without raises, gas prices have doubled, Energy, groceries and other expenses have gone up. It is harder for us to make ends meet. We are the ones that have kept state government running in SPITE of this and past administrations “fixing” the problems in State Government. Merit Comp employees are SUPPOSE to get paid based on job performance, but the budget is balanced on ALL of our backs. How can you have a pay for performance when they don’t fund the PAY? One last question for you Cassandra: In how many companies do the employees make more than their Supervisors? - Shallow Pharnyx - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 4:56 pm: Finally! I did not have to be the only 1 to stand up for state workers!!! - B Hicks - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 5:01 pm: Where’s the leadership???: That sounds pretty good, your agency would surely crumble without you. What is your monthly salary? - What a state we're in! - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 8:48 pm: Just the facts, Cassandra: You are right on with your entire statement. We are an easy target for the Governor because we don’t have anyone representing us unless we consider a class action suit. Many of us slog through each day, doing 3 peoples’ work because of layoffs, etc., while putting out the fires of non-payment of bills, failure of upper management or the Governor’s office to respond to providers and taxpayers and the general aggrevation of other employees who are pushed to the limits by the same things. We do work below the wages of private sector employees but most of us have been here just long enough to not be able to leave and find challenging work, despite a great deal of experience and education, because we are of an age when people think your brains have either fallen out or have atrophied. I am so upset over the state of the state at times I feel my brains are imploding. So thanks for saying it like it is. - PatriotUSA - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 8:56 pm: Absolute truth: State MC employees checking themselves into hospitals for complete checkups due to chest pains caused by taking on up to 5 and 6 other management position responsibilities caused by Gov. Rod diluting the MC workpool to such low levels that public service is an “oxymoron”. MC employees dropping out of their current positions and taking lower pay positions due to the same as above. Morale at such low levels as acquiesing to surrender and “no mas”. MC management employees being up to 50-100 “must do” tasks behind in due dates with no prospect of possibly being accomplished within an effective timeframe; so stretched out in responsibilities as to being dangerously in jeopardy of failing public safety, public service and in reality public uselessness as to be non-effective. The State employee situation is in dire shape and our public will be shocked soon when there are no more public employees to care for the programs they are used to. You can absolutely without a doubt blame the Democratic leadership all the way to the Gov. and Deputy Gov. (from NYC). Sad but true!! - Been there, it's true! - Monday, May 8, 06 @ 10:59 pm: The treatment of the MC employees is an abomination. That is for the MC employees in the position of having the jobs as described above. Four years of no raises, not even a handful of change. We do the work of most of the “employees” assigned to us. Those who may have worked for campaigns or have Daddy’s who contributed to a campaign. Trust me, us lower level MC’s, or PSA’s, the position that has had the four year dump plopped on their heads DO NOT make the big bucks that many people think. It is quite demoralizing to have a youngster come in, surf the web, wander around and do no work and still make more money than employees that have been employed by the state for many years. And they still get raises!!! You see, us PSA’s who have these “assigned employees” are responsible for their Performance Reviews. We see how much money the children make, plus the amount of the raises they receive. We have no say regarding the money these punks make. We just fill out the form (as directed), sign it, and pass it up the chain for approvals. The situation that we are in has been created by this administration. It is their attempt to rid the state of hold over employees from other administrations. If we walk, then the “employee” with the most clout gets our old position. Along with our old position is a promotion and a four year term appointment. The state is stuck with these people well into the next administration. Sort of like those employees Blago fired on his first day in office. - B Hicks - Tuesday, May 9, 06 @ 6:51 am: Okay, we get it, PSA titles do all of the work. A PSA opt-1 pay scale is $3100-$6800 a month. You’re good at listing your numerous responsibilities, but you won’t list your salary. Let’s hear it. We’ll tell you if you’re under paid. - Wheres the leadership??? - Tuesday, May 9, 06 @ 8:47 am: I make 63K per year. I have union employees making 90+ and they get OT. - Been there, it's true! - Tuesday, May 9, 06 @ 4:08 pm: OK B Hicks, what is a PSA option 1? Throw out the pay rate guidelines, they are crap. You get paid what they want to pay you, and what can you going to do about it? Nothing. If you are lucky enough to move up to a PSA and your theoretical pay raise from the jump in steps is greater than 10% it has to be approved by the governors office. That is where you get hosed, or rewarded. Depending on who you are you get anywhere from zero to whatever amount is “recommended” for your promotion. But then since there is a freeze on raises and promotions none of this matters. So it can be said “we don’t give raises like that under this reform administration”. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.