Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Campaign fodder

Posted in:

Illinois

* As we’ve discussed before, Rep. Jack Franks has kicked up a hornet’s nest in McHenry County by highlighting a state law which requires county board members to work 1,000 hours per year as part of their agreement to participate in their pension plan. It’s not just McHenry, though. Sangamon County has the same rule, and a Democratic House candidate made a very big oops…

[Tony DelGiorno], who also is a candidate for state representative against incumbent Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, R-Leland Grove, in the 99th House District, says that after being elected to the county board in 2012, he was filling out employment documents.

“The IMRF paperwork was included and I was told at the time that county board members are eligible and we can sign up if we want to,” he said.

But nobody ever told him, he said, about the 1,000-hour standard.

Does he meet that threshold?

“I highly doubt it,” DelGiorno said. His full-time job is as partner in a law firm. […]

DelGiorno contacted the IMRF, asking to withdraw from the pension system because he said he learned of the 1,000-hour requirement from The State Journal-Register. […]

But Beth Janicki Clark, associate general counsel to IMRF, wrote back, saying a choice to participate in the system by an elected official is irrevocable, under state law.

Yeah, that won’t make it into a campaign hit piece. Never. Not in a billion/trillion years.

/snark

* Related…

* Dysfunction in Springfield, big money encourage more candidates into the field

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, May 9, 16 @ 11:12 am

Comments

Can we talk about the bigger Jack Franks issues? That the rumors are more than just swirling that he is going to drop out of his state rep race and run for McHenry County Board Chairman?

Comment by AlabamaShake Monday, May 9, 16 @ 11:16 am
Hey.. I like that the guy wanted to fix a wrong on his own after reading about it in the SJR. Sounds like he at least attempted to do the right thing here even without being told.

Comment by Radar Monday, May 9, 16 @ 11:23 am
That’s a fair point, Radar. One common thread in both counties (and maybe others) is that the hours worked rule is not clearly spelled out in the IMRF documents.

On the other hand, he surely couldn’t have thought he was gonna get a pension for going to a couple meetings a month. One of the savvier R’s quoted in the article who did not elect IMRF said more or less “How could I expect a pension for this?,

Comment by Arthur Andersen Monday, May 9, 16 @ 11:41 am
Why was it made irrevocable? There are other state pension programs that one can get out of, usually with a tax penalty. Is this one special?

Comment by Anon221 Monday, May 9, 16 @ 11:53 am
Criticizing the Democrat is laughable while all the anti-tax and spend Sangamon Republicans are hypocrites.

Comment by Liberty Monday, May 9, 16 @ 12:32 pm
=Sangamon Republicans are hypocrites.=

Surely not the lovable hoards of anti-government government employees!

Comment by Qui Tam Monday, May 9, 16 @ 1:14 pm
If you’re doing something illegal (fraudulently participating in the pension system when you are ineligible) they make you stay in anyway because one day you said you wanted to?

Comment by NoGifts Monday, May 9, 16 @ 2:36 pm
This does not pass the smell test.

Comment by Mama Monday, May 9, 16 @ 3:16 pm
That is not true that you can not come out of the system. Former Village Trustee of Brookfield C.P. Hall was removed from the program when the village board revoked pension privelleges. He was vested and had paid in for years. Just saying for those that care about this topic…

Comment by Ryan Evans Monday, May 9, 16 @ 11:15 pm
Franks is sponsor of SB 2701, which addresses the topic.

Synopsis is below:

Provides that a person who holds elective office as a member of a governing body of a participating municipality shall not be considered a participating employee, unless (1) the person has elected to become a participating employee; (2) the governing body has filed a resolution certifying that a person in that position is expected to work more than 600 hours (or 1,000 hours if the participating municipality has adopted a specified resolution); and (3) the person has submitted logs evidencing that he or she has met the hourly standard. Requires the resolution to be adopted and filed with the Fund no more than 90 days after the general election in which any member of the governing body was elected. Requires participating governing body members to file the log with the authorized agent of the participating municipality.

He could add that county board members could get out of IMRF.

And to make Downstate county board Democrats and Republicans happy, he could even even indemnify those who have broken the rules from criminal prosecution.

Here are the county boards in potential danger and the number of members in IMRF:

Alexander County – 1
Christian County – 5
Clinton County – 8
Coles County – 9
DuPage County – 10
Edgar County – 1
Edwards County – 3
Gallatin County – 2
Grundy County – 1
Hamilton County – 2
Hardin County – 3
Jackson County – 1
Kane County – 21
Kankakee County – 1
Kendall County – 5
Lake County – 16
LaSalle County – 12
Logan County – 5
Macon County – 1
Macoupin County – 2
Madison County – 20
Marion County – 2
Marshall County – 3
Massac County – 2
McHenry County – 22
Monroe County – 3
Montgomery County – 4
Morgan County – 3
Ogle County – 7
Perry County – 3
Piatt County – 1
Pope County – 2
Pulaski County – 2
Randolph County – 3
Richland County – 1
Rock Island County – 13
Sangamon County – 18
Scott County – 3
St Clair County – 30
Tazewell County – 2
Union County – 4
Vermilion County – 17
Wabash County – 3
White County – 5
Will County – 14
Williamson County – 3
Winnebago County – 1

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, May 10, 16 @ 9:41 am