Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:
Springfield is the new gambling mecca. Place your bets. ADM or pensions or both?
Adenia Linker sent her photo to me after seeing this morning’s Sunday Reads.
There is only one political party in Illinois. It is meeting in Springfield on December 3rd.
Fred Klonsky | Running for our pensions. | VOTE 4 Fred Klonsky.
Keeping retirement weird.
They say it was a perfect storm. A movement, the man and a plan. That’s how we elected Harold Washington to be the first elected Black mayor of Chicago. On Monday it will be 26 years since Harold died. It is over 30 years since we beat the Machine and elected him. The thing I take away from those days is that perfect storms come without warning. We will be spending Thanksgiving with some of the
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John Dillon blogs at Pension Vocabulary. So, what’ll it be in December in the General Assembly? Will the General Assembly supply ADM with the payment in order to play along, like they have with Caterpillar, Boeing, and so, so many others? Or will they say no? Or will they look at the hundreds of thousands of single dollars to be taken from those who worked under promises of pensions, planned for futures after retirements, found or find themselves in unexpected medical needs and costs, see that a starting salary today in teaching is nearly 5 and ½ where they started…and take away their futur
Curie banner at Chicago’s Neighborhood School Fair. Photo: Adenia Linker.
The state’s pundits are enamored with the concept of getting something done about pensions. It doesn’t matter who it hurts. It doesn’t matter who is paying for getting it done. It doesn’t matter if it is constitutional or not. If you own a computer and work for what passes for a newspaper in Illinois you can call yourself a journalist or a columnist. After all, you’re not a blogger. The only political party in Illinois is meeting in Springfield on December 3rd. All the pundits are positive that what they call pension reform is going to happen. Madigan is on board. Cullerton is on board. Even
YESTERDAY
Lunch bets and phone calls on the pension bill.
The IEA and their partners in the We Are One coalition of state public employee unions are finally mobilizing for what may be a special session of the Illinois General Assembly. The GA leaders in Springfield have notified the representatives that they may be called back to vote on a COLA cutting pension bill. You can contact your Senate and House representatives now by going here. And We Are One
The racism of CPS. “It is highly disruptive to relocate people from their existing school to another school.”
My drawing of Tim Cawley, 2012. Lincoln elementary school sits in the middle of one of Chicago’s most expensive neighborhoods, right behind the site of the former Children’s Memorial Hospital in Lincoln Park. To solve the overcrowding of Lincoln School, the CPS board will construct an $18 million addition. When some parents and critics asked why the school’s district lines couldn’t be changed
NOV 21
Glen Brown on standards.
Glen Brown commented on Standards. Speaking of Standards, here are some observations about the Common Core State Standards Initiative: • It was developed in the private sector with economic (and political) objectives: “Common Core State Standards will prepare all children to be successful in a competitive global economy” • It was imposed by the National Governors Association Center for Best Pract
Standards.
Levittown in the fifties. Jon Stewart’s great pizza debate has been funny. It started with his rant against Chicago deep dish. A casserole, he called it. Twitter and Facebook took over the New York/Chicago pizza rivalry. A Facebook friend from Philly chimed in about Philly hot dogs. Something about Italian dogs. Italian dogs? Don’t even talk to me about anything other than a Chicago dog. Unles
The in box. Illinois’ working families have no candidate for governor.
Todd Mertz is a high school teacher and IEA political activist. Friends and Colleagues It is time we have an Illinois governor stand up for public education, students, teachers, employee unions, and collective bargaining rights. If not, we are likely to fall victim like our colleagues did recently in WI, MI, IN, and OH. The 2014 gubernatorial race is looking bleak…to say the least. I don’t und
NOV 20
What is the difference between a defined-contribution plan and a defined-benefit plan?
By Glen Brown What is the difference between a Defined-Contribution Savings Plan and a Defined-Benefit Pension Plan? A Defined-Contribution Savings Plan: 1) A defined-contribution savings plan (401(k), 403(b), 457) was not initially created as a retirement vehicle but rather as a supplementary savings account; 2) A defined-contribution savings plan shifts all the responsibilities and all of th
On pensions the public supports us.
Who do you trust? Anti-pension money bag and former Enron trader John Arnold? David Sirota reports on the latest public attitude towards public pensions in a survey conducted by the Pew Center. As Sirota reports, this is in spite of the fact that the Pew Center as joined with former Enron trader John Arnold in a campaign against public pensions. Sirota points to the important results of the Pew C
George Schmidt, The Trib and me.
George Schmidt publishes Substance News. Thanks George. What a perfect historical example of The Trib’s ability to be both orgasmic and yet still impotent. There is a difference between the CTU election and the pension fight. Those of us who have spent the past nearly half dozen years meeting with the state’s politicians on this issue will tell you that it is amazing how sure they are of the need
The Chicago Tribune is orgasmic over the possibility of pension destruction.
, Today the editorial board of The Chicago Tribune have gone positively orgasmic over the possibility that state public employees will lose our pensions on December 3rd. Freeze our cost of living adjustment. Ohhhh. Increase the retirement age. Ahhh! End the defined contribution and switch to a 401K. Ooooh! Cap pensionable income. Yessssss! Well we’re not having what they’re having. Glen Brown doe
NOV 19
Arne’s racism. Which suburban white mom?
The apology by Education Secretary rings hollow. Maybe he’s sorry he said it. It doesn’t mean he didn’t mean it. It’s not the first racist comments he’s made. I wondered. Which white suburban moms did he mean? Or in his eyes is being white enough? I taught for thirty years in a district with mostly white kids and white moms. Did he mean the mom who, along with her husband, dedicated her life to h
Breaking: December 2 is Pension Emergency Day.
From the IEA: The We Are One Illinois coalition is declaring Monday, Dec. 2 a pension emergency day. Politicians are expected to return to Springfield on Dec. 3, to vote on an extreme pension scheme devised by legislative leaders. For years, we have been battling changes to the pension system and it appears this could be the date for an actual vote. As we’ve told you before, this plan will blend u
Breaking: TRS gets $100 million from Chase settlement.
Illinois’ Teacher Retirement System is reported to be getting $100 million from the Justice Department’s settlement with Chase. Good start. What about the rest they and the rest of Wall Street owes us. In an agreement settling many U.S. claims over its sale of troubled mortgages, JPMorgan Chase will pay a record $13 billion, in a deal announced by the Justice Department Tuesday. The plan includes
This is no time for pension fight fatigue.
Thousands of Illinois public employee retirees have been attending meetings around the state gathering information as best we can about the new Medicare Advantage plan. It is a resulting of the state and Feds unloading their direct responsibility for administering public employee health care plans. Because of the extremely short roll-out time, it has rightly occupied a lot of our time and concern.
Joni Lindgren. “Voting against retirees will make you part of the bigger picture of what is wrong.”
Senator It is immoral for legislators to vote against any unconstitutional bill when you sit comfortably and smuggly in Springfield or at your Thanksgiving table knowing your pensions and great health care plans are intact. What kind of individual are you who can strip retirees of their Constitutional guarantees for the job they performed at lower salaries than in the private sector to just han
Jim Keating: “Leave our pensions alone! Have a happy new (election) year!”
By Jim Keating. JIm is a member of the DuPage Illinois Retired Teachers Association (IRTA).The post comes from the November issue of the DuPage IRTA newsletter which is published 6 times a year. Jim always contributes a legislative column. This is a tongue-in-cheek look at retiree’s current perilous pension situation. “Dark times are these.”- Yoda Since last June the days have been getting shor
NOV 18
The in box. Richard Ingram. If you know are an Illinois teacher retiree affected by yesterday’s storms.
Just received from Teacher Retirement Director Richard Ingram: Sally Sherman, TRS Director of Member Services has confirmed with the US Postal Service that all the areas affected by yesterday’s tornados have operational postal facilities. If individual members have issues with receiving mail, they should be able to contact their local post office to determine if their mail has been held, which
Bob Lyons: “You should know.”
From Bob Lyons, retiree representative on the Teacher Retirement System board of trustees: I went to the post office Saturday to mail TRS my selection for health care insurance and, as has been reported elsewhere, the envelope required a 66 cent stamp. TRS suggests that the need for a registered letter is only if you are mailing your selection in the very last days. If you have an email addre
The in box. “I feel betrayed by the system.”
Fred, Thank you for all that you have done on our behalf. I have a husband with Alzheimer’s. I am wondering how I am going to afford my health insurance as CMS does not include our doctors in any of our plans. I am pretty much felling very betrayed by the system. Medicare and insurance pays for skilled nursing, not Alzheimer’s. My husband was a teacher and our pensions are no where near the $50,00
The in box. Jose Vilson. “I’ve been mad. Perhaps you should have been angry with us, back when the levees broke …”
First They Came For Urban Black and Latino Moms (For Arne Duncan) 11/17/2013 A few months ago, I walked past a “successful” charter school here in Harlem, NY, speed-walking to get my school supplies for the coming school year. I noticed a huge crowd of mostly Black and Latino families all waiting to pick up their children when a taut, pony-tailed White man came out with a c
NOV 17
Dear Jack.
Retired teacher and SORE IEA-Retired member Jack Tucker got a letter from Pat Quinn: Dear Friend, What a month so far! Last week, we succeeded in passing marriage equality legislation in Springfield, one of Governor Quinn’stop legislative priorities this year. Then just a few days ago, the governor announced his 2014 running mate: Paul Vallas. Paul is a reformer and a nationally renown
The in box. CMS is pleading with retirees to help them reach out to those who have infirmities and/or live out of state.
From SORE member Robert Zahniser: Saturday’s Illinois Central Management Services meeting at the Buffalo Grove Performance Center hosted by Senator Morrison and Representative Drury was standing room only. It was announced that CMS would post a video of its presentation on its Website this Monday for those who have been unable to attend a meeting in person. CMS is pleading with retirees to help
Sunday reads.
Chicago’s Curie High School students made this banner for the Neighborhood School Fair. Oh no! Now Arne has pissed off white people too. In Seattle a socialist wins “because she had more credibility than a longtime Democratic seatholder in a Democratic enclave on what should be Democratic issues.” Anthony Cody. Ten things about Common Core that suck. You can go to the People’s School Board meet
NOV 16
I spent this morning at Chicago’s neighborhood school fair.
Roberto Clemente’s steel drum band opened today’s Neighborhood School Fair. Sixty neighborhood schools and hundreds of parents turned out. I live in a city that is shutting down neighborhood schools, requiring neighborhood parents to travel miles to get fingerprinted before they can volunteer at their child’s school and where in opposition to the community’s wishes Rahm is spending millions
The in box. “Could this be why our legislators are so brazen?”
Fred, FYI–Just wanted to let you know that even though I won’t be Medicare age for a few more years I attended the afternoon CMS meeting in Peoria earlier this week with some friends. Unlike other venues, there was plenty of parking and the accommodations were more than adequate. There were plenty of little freebies as well. I must say that I thought the presentation was pretty straight forward a
Keeping retirement weird.
The Silence of the Lambs. I got a call from my retired friend Ed Rosenthal yesterday. His voice sounded tired. He told me that he’s been on the road. Ed lives in the western ‘burbs. He drove down to Springfield to attend the IEA Retired Council meeting. He left a bit early to drive the hour and a half to Champaign where there is a CMS meeting on the new TRAIL Medicare Advantage program. When he
Bob and Pat on the TRAIL.
Dear Robert, Fred, I just wanted to report in on my experiences with TRAIL options and information for those of us affected in DuPage county. We have two choices, UnitedHealthCare Group Medicare Advantage PPO and the second is the TRAIL Humana Health Plan HMO. For decades many of us have had BC/BS HMO Illinois beginning when we were working and then through TRIP in retirement. Apparently that
