Patch on Politics

Retiring Illinois Lawmakers Make Bank on the Way Out

The representatives and senators leaving office in January 2013 will see millions of dollars in pension payments, figures far more sizable than they would've seen in the private sector.

Are you worried about your own retirement? With the downturn in the economy, did your 401k and savings take a big hit? If so, you're like millions of other Americans forced to confront a dramatically different outlook for their post-work years. But one group of pensioners is largely insulated from such concerns — outgoing Illinois lawmakers. The retirement benefits Illinois legislators receive are far more generous than those most of their constituents could collect working full-time jobs, reports Scott Reeder of the Reeder Report, using data from an Illinois Policy Institute analysis in a piece published on Watchdog.org. The anticipated pension benefits of the 34 lawmakers who will depart the state legislature in January show these …

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District 203 Projects Balanced Budget Despite State Uncertainties; Set to Vote on 2012-13 Graduation Date Change

Naperville Unit School District 203 board members discussed state pension reform issue as well as changing next year's graduation date at Monday's meeting.

Even though Illinois lawmakers last week failed to find a solution to the state's $83 billion pension deficit, Naperville Unit School District 203 officials said they have prepared budget projections for whatever “gets thrown” at them next from the state. At last night’s board of education meeting, members discussed ways to maintain a balanced budget despite the uncertainties surrounding the state’s ongoing pension issue - an issue that is set to come up in Springfield again this summer. “There are ways of coping with some of the unknowns that we have for the future and still making our budgets balanced into the future, and we have time to accomplish that,” said District 203 Chief Financial Officer Dave Zager on Monday night. “Probably no …

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