Why doesn't anyone in Springrield suggest allowing the teachers to keep their 9.4% and utilize 401k's like their private sector counterparts? To me, this sounds like it would be reasonable to both the teacher and the tax payer. What am I missing?

Cindy,

If 401k's were such a great idea we wouldn't have so many Baby Boomers unable to retire right now. Fact is, most people are poor investors and don't understand how mutual funds work. They keep their money in bad funds because they don't review them. Mutual funds also skew markets based on their size which leads to problems similar to those we had with Wall Street over the last several years. Just like some people believe that government is too big and it leads to corrupution, so are the funds. It is time to scale them back, not expand them through additional enrollment.

I wish my 401k had earned 9.3% over the last 30 years and I'm sure that almost an entire generation of people who are delaying their retirements are too. The 401k is just another bad idea touted by libertarians that is failing our country. Give me the pension any day.

i have had to pay in to social security all my working life . the fed gov has also used social security funds as a credit card also .who is going to bail me out? teachers are not the only ones screwed by the goverment

Lets see, for the last thirty years, the IEA and the like have been bankrolling the very candidates that managed to get constitutional protection for your pension plan. These very same officials that made all these promises took your money and your vote and then stole the money that we taxpayers sent to Springfield to pay for your pension benefits to try and buy votes from other special interest groups. Now your upset because the ponzi scheme has been exposed and you want Illinois taxpayers, who already paid these benefits once, to pony up and pay for it again. Sorry I don't share your enthusiasm for funding this problem. You and your special interest group sat and watched "your" elected officials steal you blind while voting them back into office year after year sending them millions in union funds in exchange for more ponzi scheme, unrealistic benefit packages. Now the state is on the verge of TOTAL financial collapse, you think what, we should raise taxes and make the citizens send the money in again, to the same morons that stole it in the first place and trust they will do the "right thing" this time? I paid for it once, and it didn't happen largely because of your political support for the criminals in Springfield that duped you and your organizations into believing they had your best interest at heart. I've paid into your pension once and feel NO obligation to do it again.

i could not agree more Greg

As an over taxed, tax payer I agree with Mr. O'Neil as well.
If you join the "Teacher Mafia" it is what it is.
It's a different version of a street gang.....You threaten to walk out on our children when you don't get your way, making parents afraid that you will somehow harm little Johnny and Susie if you don't say yes to the demands. And yes, "Teacher Mafia" with your administration ring leaders, you have done just that. Your ring leaders get the big bucks, cars, fluff and the like. And in return they cover for you. Alowing you shiny benefits like rolling over a career time of vacation and sick days so that when you do retire, you can embellish your last years salary so you can steal more for he rest of your life with out even trying. Giving you paid insurance.....even when you are not there to earn it. (Remember...laborers have to earn their insurance on a quarterly basis. Being a teacher, I'm sure you have a dictionary. Look up the word "Earn")
So, now your ring leaders are turning on you. Poor thing.
My opinion. .........."You play, you pay". Reap the spoiled harvest.
Bet you voted "YES" for every increase there was.....Guess you voted yourself out now.

Laura and Greg, very well said.

I'm sure this is not an original thought, but for many people, government is the drug of choice. If you demand a lot from it, you get really high on the serenity, and security it provides. Unforutnately, there is the crash that ensues ater every high, so you go after more government, and more, and more. Then it's time to pay the pusher. I think were there, and who cares about whose fault it is. It's time for a long bout of detoxification, whether we like it, or not. Two decades worth, i'm thinking.

The interesting comment about denigrating an entire profession is that the majority of teachers (maybe even 100%) are members of their union. So they've chosen to be lumped in with the rest of their peers.

Same with negotiating. They use the resources of the NEA when it comes to bargaining, yet don't want to be associated with the results of the teaching profession nationwide. Well, then don't choose to become a part of this nationwide group, or else the results of teachers, as a whole, are your results too.

The private sector has been hammered, yet public sector unions keep thinking that they are special. Many private sector corporations have filed for bankruptcy in order to stay afloat and their employees and retiress were forced to have their benefits modified. I can see no reason why public sector employees should not be subject to the same treatment.

CHICAGO – Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady charged that Illinois House Speaker/Illinois Democratic Party Chairman/Father of the Illinois Attorney General Mike Madigan’s acceptance of $97,000 in campaign contributions from unions on Friday - the same day as the special session of the Illinois General Assembly that was supposedly called to deal with pension reform but ended with no action taken - is a clear sign that, despite Madigan’s rhetoric, he never really intended to implement pension reforms.

“Mike Madigan has been talking a good game about fiscal reform,” said Brady, “but just follow the money to look at who is filling his pot of gold (campaign war chest).”

With the especially most recent antics of school teachers.The theatrical performance the Geneva School District teachers put on, childish from my perspective. Oswego hiring an over paid criminal to be Superindendent of schools, how about some reference calls before you hire someone. And, include a very legal question."Would you re-hire this person to work in your district again?" the answer would have been most likely not. And, how about Yorkville and the Superindendent that was paid almost $400,000, that we will now pay for forever.Don't even get me started there. And now, the gull of the Yorkville and especially the new criminal superintendent of Oswego to make such comments about the "-20%" in the Record last week. Threatening cuts that bleed the affection of the general public, aimed directly at tax paying, voting parents. Instead of trying to first look within the system to find where things have gone out of control on the financial aspect, and realizing and fessing up that there is serious trouble here. before shooting out such comments. Blatantly rude and typical. This "Profession" is out of control. So out of control they seriously believe these antics are just fine. If someone is part of this "Teacher Mafia" you are in like a gang member........for the good, the greed and now the the not so good. It's not my fault the this perspective was created.It's a learned response. The "Teachers" taught it.

PRIVOTIZE this mess. Have everyone re apply for their job, get pay and benefits inline with what is being done. (true inline not fairy tale inline). Those who don't perform well, we're not meant to be and will be asked to move on. Enough of this tenure garbage meant for bad teachers. Why does every district need a superintendent ? Have one that oversees each counties principals. Run it like a business. We need some serious new perspective in this money hungry system of ours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=xOAgT8L_BqQ&feature=player_embedded

This was recently shared by a friend. It's a sickening truth.

Oswego Resident......

I do not believe that public servants should get better than average benefits. They should not be above what the benefits are of the people that are paying for them. As I stated in another post......I have an inside perspective on how much better the benefits are of this "Profession" and, it's disturbing.

Are we talking about a teachers inside benefits Laura?
If so, I too have an inside close relative that is a teacher. She by no means has any form of extravagant benefit. package In fact, a recent hospital stay cost her quite a nice chunk of change. Her salary is by no means extravagant and she has to work her summers in order to get ahead. What exactly is she doing wrong laura to not get in on these inside bene's?

Not sure ......I only know what I see. And let me tell you, makes my eyes burn.

If your going to do reform, it must be done to all. Teachers aren't the problem. In the next 10 years the first pension plan in IL. to go INSOLVENT is going to be the Chicago Police and Fire. Since many towns mimic chicago with wages and structuring guess what going to happen to us. This problem is way beyond repair and it is to late to point fingers, other than at our leaders. And they are laughing all the way to the bank. They knew this was coming for years and did nothing to change it

@ Kelly ........Exactly!

@logansdad......Bet they voted for every increase as well. Now, they have to pay the price just like everyone else. "Ooppssyy" on their part.

Maybe everyone should vote for a decrease now instead......Let's say -20%. If we care so much about all of the poor teachers that have to work the summer (poor things) and can't make ends meet once they retire. Better start making changes hard and fast.

http://m.topix.com/forum/city/yorkville-il/TKD152Q2BCEA7QIS0

Stumbled upon this. Comments from 2007---->2012

We as a people have made no progress.

Of all the comments above, put everything together and you will realize why UNIONS were formed. If any citizens did what the elected officials did , we would all be in jail.

As for government jobs, in years past they did not pay as well as private sector. Thanks to unions again we have been brought up to the private sector.
Getting a government job was always a little harder than in the private sector.
The private sector, (not all) have put us in this depression along with the politicians who want to do nothing, as well as the housing market. If it's to good to be true, it usually is. Don't blame the unions, blame the politicians and ceo's, you don't see them taking a pay or benefit cut

I do not think teachers have to join a union. I thank you Greg Oneil, I have paid once already. Look at Wisconsin.......look at the taxpayers 401k....

I've got family and friends that work in the blue collar and white collar world. I am a blue collar worker and proud of the service and work that I provide each and every day. I've never had the expensive sports car, big fancy house, or really anything high end, but I've always been happy with my job and my promised benefits. When I retire with my pension I will continue to lead an average to below average lifestyle. Believe me I will not retire wealthy.

In the past years when the economy was better, I've had the pleasure to sit around and listen to my white collar friends and family talk about how great they were doing in the stock market, how they were purchasing that fancy car, golf memberships at country clubs, their luxury vacations etc. It honestly never bothered me that they were doing so well. In the past those same people would at times laugh at me for working so hard for such little pay. I continued over the years to just get the cost of living pay increases or some years no pay increase at all. I was leading a good honest hard working lifestyle and never would have wanted or even thought about wishing a harder life or stealing from my white collars friends. They chose their career path just as I chose mine. I chose not to gamble with my retirement and took a hard working pension job. Why should I have to apologize, justify and fight for what I've earned and allow my white collar family and friends steal from me because they made poor financial deals? .

Nice post Mel! The teachers had a contract and funds were suppose to be paid into the pension fund just as people paid into Medicare or anything else. They were given IOU's that the money would be funded later on, WRONG. That money should have been placed in there from day one and left in there, period. You don't pay Peter with Paul's money, you do without. While I don't agree about the padding at the end of their employment I do believe they should receive their retirement. If the money was there and screwed it up themselves then it would be their problem. Taxpayers shouldn't hold the bag now, we need to go after the scumbags responsible for stealing that money. We're letting a bunch of crooks get away with this and not one person is saying anything, until it happens to them.
I'm sick and tired of this entire mess. We're punishing people for their hard work and living within their means, while we reward the ones who lie, cheat and steal from the rest of us. It's time we all paid our fair share in taxes, straight tax across the board! Don't like it leave! Quit the outsourcing and if they do there's no breaks or rewards for doing so! For anyone who thinks their job is safe, you couldn't be more wrong. There's not one person living in this country who has job security!