The big drop from 2002 to 2003 was the result of the Early Retirement Incentive program when about 11,000 State employees retired. A lot of institutional knowledge was lost then.
There was a second, much less advantageous, ERI offered in 2004 where approximately 2,000 left.
But any way you look at it, State headcount is way down from its’ peaks.
At the ISP district headquarters I worked at from 1988 to 2013, our staffing dropped 50% from the day I started to the day I retired. The workload did not reduce. It wasn’t fair to the employees nor the public we served.
=== Headcount has grown by 3,289 since the nadir of the Rauner impasse. ===
Yes. But it also shows that there are 13,000 fewer people doing the State’s business (almost 20%) over the past 30 years, despite a net growth of population over those years.
- This is ridiculous - Wednesday, Jul 31, 24 @ 4:32 pm:
I can’t get people hired even when I have federal money to pay them.
You are not wrong asserting that Tier-2 is not even an equal contribution in the long-term. I came to Illinois because we had a rational and reasonable set of state retirement systems. I only sought security, right? But Tier-2 is not an equivalence to Social Security to date. My ‘opinion.’
No one with skills and an education is signing up for Tier 2.==
Agreed. I was fortunate enough to be Tier 1. Have a Bachelor degree in a pretty relevant field. Only stayed for the retirement. Could have made more money in the private sector. The State’s BS isn’t worth the retirement package today.
The State, while paying decent salaries downstate, has always been behind market rates in the Chicago / Cook Metro area. The two things the State had going for them were (mostly) job security and a good pension system.
I can’t speak for others, but in 1983 I had multiple opportunities to more than double my salary if I moved to either Floridia or California, but both locations had a much higher cost of living and less in terms of job security. The deciding factor in staying in Springfield was the Tier 1 pension.
The Tier 2 pension is better than nothing, but it’s a lot harder sell when you are requiring college degrees for every position and often paying less than market rate salaries. Plus advancement can be limited or at a very slow pace.
Today the *only* thing the State has left to sell is job security.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 31, 24 @ 1:57 pm:
The big drop from 2002 to 2003 was the result of the Early Retirement Incentive program when about 11,000 State employees retired. A lot of institutional knowledge was lost then.
There was a second, much less advantageous, ERI offered in 2004 where approximately 2,000 left.
But any way you look at it, State headcount is way down from its’ peaks.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 31, 24 @ 1:58 pm:
And some agencies that require lots of face to face interaction are suffering from the lower headcount.
- Former Merit Comp - Wednesday, Jul 31, 24 @ 3:38 pm:
At the ISP district headquarters I worked at from 1988 to 2013, our staffing dropped 50% from the day I started to the day I retired. The workload did not reduce. It wasn’t fair to the employees nor the public we served.
- H-W - Wednesday, Jul 31, 24 @ 4:00 pm:
=== Headcount has grown by 3,289 since the nadir of the Rauner impasse. ===
Yes. But it also shows that there are 13,000 fewer people doing the State’s business (almost 20%) over the past 30 years, despite a net growth of population over those years.
- This is ridiculous - Wednesday, Jul 31, 24 @ 4:32 pm:
I can’t get people hired even when I have federal money to pay them.
- Flyin'Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Wednesday, Jul 31, 24 @ 4:34 pm:
Again, for the cheap seats.
No one with skills and an education is signing up for Tier 2.
- H-W - Wednesday, Jul 31, 24 @ 4:55 pm:
@ Flyin’Elvis
You are not wrong asserting that Tier-2 is not even an equal contribution in the long-term. I came to Illinois because we had a rational and reasonable set of state retirement systems. I only sought security, right? But Tier-2 is not an equivalence to Social Security to date. My ‘opinion.’
- Southern Dude - Wednesday, Jul 31, 24 @ 7:17 pm:
== Again, for the cheap seats.
No one with skills and an education is signing up for Tier 2.==
Agreed. I was fortunate enough to be Tier 1. Have a Bachelor degree in a pretty relevant field. Only stayed for the retirement. Could have made more money in the private sector. The State’s BS isn’t worth the retirement package today.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 31, 24 @ 7:19 pm:
The State, while paying decent salaries downstate, has always been behind market rates in the Chicago / Cook Metro area. The two things the State had going for them were (mostly) job security and a good pension system.
I can’t speak for others, but in 1983 I had multiple opportunities to more than double my salary if I moved to either Floridia or California, but both locations had a much higher cost of living and less in terms of job security. The deciding factor in staying in Springfield was the Tier 1 pension.
The Tier 2 pension is better than nothing, but it’s a lot harder sell when you are requiring college degrees for every position and often paying less than market rate salaries. Plus advancement can be limited or at a very slow pace.
Today the *only* thing the State has left to sell is job security.