Why is that public employees are entitled to get a guaranteed pension when almost all non public employees pay the same taxes and have to rely and 401Ks and social security for their retirement dollars? I fully support my tax dollars going to pay the salaries for teachers, fire fighters, police and other necessary public employees. However, I do not support my tax dollars going to pay for public employees pensions, particularly to a system that is abused the way it is in Cook County, IL and Chicago. Let existing pension obligations stay in place but everyone (new and current employees) should move to 401K systems going forward.

I flound myself yelling at the TV during Carol Marin segment on public pensions. The panel, all elected legislators, are a major part of the legalized thievery of Illinois tax dollars. They all receive over $70,000 annual salary, plus pensions, plus healthcare coverage for a PART TIME JOB which only requires 62 days of work a year in Illinois. Salaries for the same job in Texas is $7,200 a year. This is legalized thievery. I am amazed Carol did not seem to aware that she was getting doubletalk from the panel because they are in fact trying to protect their own pensions. My opinion is that should be no taxpayer paid pensions and benefits for part time state legislators. Look at Texas.
Robert Howell
McHenry, Illinois

Everyone is missing the main point.

Social Security will be insolvent in a few years.

Politicians have promised Public Employees, pensions that are unaffordable.
Politicians have promised non-Public Employees, Social Security that is unaffordable.

Everyone is in the same sinking ship.

The only fair solution is to combine all states pensions and social security programs into one unified program. This way everyone will be treated the same (taxed and receive benefits) fairly. Obviously if you have gamed the system you will not be in favor of this solution.

http://www.senatedem.ilga.gov/images/pensions/D/Pension%20Clause%20Artic...

has a 76 page legal analysis of the public pension clause of the Illinois Constitution, written by Eric Madiar, the Illinois Senate Parliamentarian/Chief Legal Counsel to Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton. I urge everyone to read this analysis so that they will have a better understanding of the legal issues at hand.

11/22/11
Last night (11/21/11) there was another Illinois State Pension discussion on Chicago Tonight with Carol Marin. The principal fact that should be highlighted in any media discussion of Illinois Pension problems is the fact that the State has not made their required contributions to the system. That fact hardly gets mentioned in any of these media presentations. Another fact that never gets mentioned is the fact that IMRF is fully funded and has none of these problems. It has none of these problems because IMRF employers had to fund their share of the pension obligations, which the State has not done.
Carol Marin hardly mentions or drives home the fact that the State has not lived up to its responsibilities in this regard. And she also never brings IMRF in to the discussion. She should because the viewing public needs to know that there is one public employee pension plan (IMRF)that is solvent and the others are not. It is important for the viewing public to understand that the ones that are not solvent is due to the irresponsibility of the State Office Holders for not living up to their part of the bargain.
Carol Marin did not ask anyone of those State Office Holders on her program lasts night why they failed to fund the State's portion of the pension obligation through the years.

Karen May is the only one on the panel who understands the problem. She used the word "lock box" to indicate the necessity for protecting the pension funds from being "raided", borrowed from to fuel projects (often dubious in nature) that have nothing to do with pensions. Pension funds are much too tempting for politicians who want to "borrow" from them to fuel their projects. Until real legal safeguards are put in place, pension funds—no mater how well funded—will always appear to be "unsustainable" with a severely short life expectancy, going broke in record time. And opening up gambling casinos and giving huge tax breaks to business groups with "clout" will only exacerbate the State's financial problems.

Karen May is the only one on the panel who understands the problem. She used the word "lock box".

Really !!!!!!

Using "Lock Box" will automatically produce 70 billion dollars of missing funds.

The only fair solution is to combine all states pensions and social security programs into one unified program. This way everyone will be treated the same (taxed and receive benefits) fairly. Obviously if you have gamed the system you will not be in favor of this solution.