Weapons of pension distraction.
When Governor Quinn signed the bill which allegedly closed some loopholes in the state pension law you might have thought that the cause of the massive underfunding of our pensions was a couple of guys who accrued benefits during their time as union employees.
The cause of TRS underfunding is the failure of the state to meet its constitutional obligations.
Reminder. Our TRS benefit does not come free. Every TRS member pays nearly 10% of their gross salary into the system. Even where local school boards pay a portion of the TRS employee obligation, it is part of a teacher’s overall compensation package.
In other words, it is no free lunch.
“Pension abuse can’t run rampant as it has been reported in recent months,”