35 Comments - Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 2:43 pm: “Hi, Rich, Madeupville also voted in favor of the Turnaround Agenda Resolution. They appear to have not broken any rules doing so. The Governor still thinks Local 150 should go away. Thanks! ck” - Ratso Rizzo - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 2:46 pm: I hate hypocrites. If you talk the talk, best to walk the walk. - consistency check - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 2:47 pm: Last week, Martwick and his allies (including commenters here) decried legislators having paychecks delayed was a form of extortion. I’m just wondering if those same voices will consider Local 150’s act extortion because they are only going after benefits of their detractors. “Support the Union or we take your pension.” - Honeybear - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 2:48 pm: GET SOME 150! GET SOME! Sorry…. GOT SOME 150, GOT SOME! Nice….so nice. - Norseman - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 2:52 pm: consistency check, you may want to do one. Considering the withholding of legally earned paychecks for several months does not equate to asking if political officials are falsely requesting money. - Man with a plan - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 2:53 pm: -consistency: If they don’t qualify for the pensions they are piling up, why vilify the union for pointing it out? Probably never would have happened if these local officials didn’t jump out into the spotlight as pension crusaders. - Scamp640 - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 2:53 pm: @ consistency check. The irony of Rauner supporters trying to defraud the pension system Rauner says needs to be reformed — and you being oblivious to the inconsistency. - blue dog dem - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 2:57 pm: A good friend of mine was a county commissioner and he would spend dozens of hours each week researching topics on the upcoming agendas. He also received numerous phone calls from constituents That needed to be followed up. Old Blue doesn’t defend politicians much, but going to board meetings isn’t the only thing these guys/gals do. - Cubs in '16 - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 2:59 pm: ===I’m just wondering if those same voices will consider Local 150’s act extortion because they are only going after benefits of their detractors. “Support the Union or we take your pension.”=== Apples to oranges. Local 150 doesn’t control the mayor and trustees’ pensions nor can they “take” them. Extortion is threatening to do something. Local 150 done did it. Retribution/tit-for-tat maybe but not extortion. - Ghost - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 3:12 pm: Consistency i feel your outrage! how dare people defrauding tax payers and public pensions be outed by the people who have made all of their required payments and met all the legal requirements. ironic that the defrauders want to cut wages from workers to cover the pension expense for pensions they are stealing…. - Jake From Elwood - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 3:13 pm: One thousand hours per year is an average of 83.33 hours per month and an average of 19.23 hours per week. It is a half-time job. I doubt that very many Village or City officials merit a IMRF pension using this pretty high standard for qualification. Why isn’t there an audit of hours worked on the front end before IMRF lets them in? - Irish 56 - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 3:16 pm: @Old Blue, I agree but 60 hours is a long, long way from 1000 hours. Even so, if they are putting in the time it needs to be documented,. - smith - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 3:37 pm: are there tens, hundreds, or thousands of part time, half time people who should be bounced? Who knows? - City Zen - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 3:51 pm: The trustees are paid $6,000 per year, so if they’re working 1,000 per year, they’re making below minimum wage. Maybe they should ask Local 150 to represent them. If Local 150 members participate in IMRF, they have every right to ask this question. Although I wonder if Local 150’s pension is as well funded as IMRF. - Seymourkid - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 3:54 pm: Well stated Ghost - NeverPoliticallyCorrect - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 3:58 pm: It’s about time we begin to boot free loading politicians off this gravy train. Next step should be state legislators but I won’t hold my breath for that. One other benefit is that if this type of scrutiny was to extend across the state (maybe Lisa Madigan would like to actually earn her paycheck) we’d see less people turn elected office into lifetime appoitnments. - consistency check - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 4:06 pm: ghost- So it’s ok to defraud the taxpayers as long as those elected officials support the union agenda? Got it. - titan - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 4:12 pm: Good local body members spend a lot of time outside of the actual board meeting. - Arthur Andersen - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 4:12 pm: Kudos to 150. One might also inquire how many more of these situations exist around the state and to what extent the fiduciaries at IMRF have taken similar action. - downstate commissioner - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 4:15 pm: Jake, the board has to certify that the mayor, supervisor, clerk, or whomever has to meet the 600 or 1000 hour qualification. Never heard of trustees or aldermen qualifying; some may, but not common. Smith, there might be some but doubt if there would be thousands; these pensions have to be agreed to by boards who are also taxpayers. - JS Mill - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 4:15 pm: =So it’s ok to defraud the taxpayers as long as those elected officials support the union agenda? Got it.= You should stop, you just got owned by ghost and you know it. Your argument is that of a child. The “elected officials” purposefully went after the unions. They initiated the attack. The union is not extorting anything, but they are pointing out the glass house that the “elected officials” live in. That does not equate to extortion. Be a grown up. - Demoralized - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 4:20 pm: ==So it’s ok to defraud the taxpayers as long as those elected officials support the union agenda? Got it.== I don’t see where that was said anywhere. - Man with a plan - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 4:24 pm: You’re out of your element, @consistency - Wensicia - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 4:30 pm: It shouldn’t take a whistleblower to prevent these kinds of abuses. - A. Nonymous - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 4:40 pm: …IMRF doesn’t require any tracking - no work logs, no time logs, nothin’. This is routinely an issue in township races. There oughtta be a law! - Triple fat - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 6:01 pm: Revenge is best served cold. - Last Bull Moose - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 6:15 pm: Glad to see someone find waste, fraud, and abuse. Did they not know the law? A lot of times the new people just copy those already there. - Amalia - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 6:27 pm: Maine Township Check that out. - Tinsel Town - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 7:07 pm: Hey, it’s Rauner’s turn around agenda. Ethics. Dear God, did I really say that about Rauner, he has ethics? - Anonymous - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 7:43 pm: Do lawyer-legislators work 1,000 hours a year for their pensions and Cadillac health coverage. - blue dog dem - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 8:32 pm: If a state rep or senator campaigns they call it work. If they are fundraising they call it work. If they are out there glad-handing it and kissing babies, you guessed it. Work. - Property of IDOC - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 8:48 pm: I have first hand knowledge, at the trustee level, this practice is standard operating procedure. As far as board members policing this fraud, “because they are tax payers too”, straight malarkey. They will appropriate what monies they can, for themselves, and out vote the trustee who disagrees. - anon - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:12 pm: == Do lawyer-legislators work 1,000 hours a year for their pensions and Cadillac health coverage.== When the G.A. is in session, they put in long hours. The targets easily put in more than 1,000 hours because they have to campaign year round. - Himsay - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 10:01 pm: In Winnetka, the boards (and Village President) work for free. It is their civic duty. Pensions? You’re kidding, right? - Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 10:29 pm: - Himsay - Lemme guess, they also donate “millions”… Ugh. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.