Your Feb. 14 editorial “Curing a pension hangover” was misleading and one-sided. We are well aware that Illinois has a severe budget problem. But as teachers, we also know that for years our money has been entrusted in good faith to our pension for safe investment. This good faith, beginning in the Thompson era, was repeatedly violated in the most egregious ways. Your editorial failed to note that there are now sufficient votes in the House and Senate to pass an extension of the Early Retirement Option, but Speaker Michael Madigan refuses to allow a vote.
Due to teacher pay scales, our salaries will increase only by the cost of living over the last 15 years of our careers, so a 10 percent hike in the past year is only making up for lost ground. Teachers across the state are ready to speak out. In fact the Teachers’ Retirement System executive director, Jon Bauman, submitted a letter to the Governor’s Pension Commission noting, according to the commission’s own actuaries, that “TRS benefits are essentially middle-of-the-road.”
TRS goes on to stress, as your editorial curiously neglects to mention, that “in fact, TRS members pay more than teachers in other non-Social Security states.”
Doesn’t 35 years of service to our students deserve to be fairly compensated?
