Fred All Week Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher
Fred, There is a nagging thought at the back of my mind that any group of people who elected Ken Swanson deserve Ken Swanson. Then I come to my senses and realize how after several years of retirement I had never encountered anything in writing telling me about membership in IEA Retired. Every decent organization has an annual membership drive. This year I intentionally set out to become a member
Karen Lewis. Pensions in the era of robber barons.
Chicago Sun-Times - Karen Lewis Legislators make laws to benefit all of us, but I was surprised and repulsed by the sight of Illinois legislative leaders congratulating themselves after voting for deep cuts in public worker pensions earlier this month. Imagine watching hunters, guns still smoking, as they congratulate each other over their kill. Imagine you’re the endangered creature they just
Fred, Some of these “representatives” may be OK in your book. I don’t know many of them personally. Those I have had interaction with don’t seem to act much like representatives of the worker. They have been on occasion belligerent, self serving, not interested in representing worker interests, and demanding of unquestioning subservience to the I.E.A. party line. Just like you, when we questioned
mark as read
Actually I made that quote up. But I’ve worked enough Chicago elections to know it is true. So, when the IEA reported that I received just over 600 votes in a state-wide IEA Retired delegate election some of my readers wrote to me skeptically. Was there fraud? At first I laughed. But the fact is that unlike every IEA local in the state, IEA Retired doesn’t run our own election. It is run entirely out of Springfield IEA headquarters. President Klickna releases the results herself. My ballot bio had to be screened by IEA lawyers, which never happened when I ran in my old union local. Plus, only
Former IEA President Ken Swanson. He owns Senate Bill 7. The truth is that I don’t like losing. For years my brother and I and other family members would play an annual Scrabble game after Thanksgiving dinner. It was as cut-throat and trash-talking a game as any game played in the NFL or NBA. One year I played the word clafouti. It’s a French fruit and custard dessert. I had used all seven of my tiles for 50 bonus points. But the abuse I had to take. “Challenge me, then!’ But a year has not gone by when some member of the Klonsky family has not said the word clafouti without a sneer. I decid
When I decided to run as a retired delegate to the Representative Assembly of the IEA it was partly out of frustration with the lack of substance and turnout for these elections. I decided to run clearly in opposition to the current practices of the IEA leadership. I presented myself as standing in opposition to corporate school reform efforts. And I presented myself as an unapologetic activist for retiree pensions. The lEA wouldn’t let me call myself a activist on my election bio. They changed it to advocate. In addition, over the past year I have been an advocate – even an activist – for way
YESTERDAY
The in box. Con artists and deceptive business practices.
Con artists and deceptive business practices. Fred: This email seems to have come too late. I tried to the best of ability to protect myself from con artists and deceptive business practices, but alas, our legislators courtesy of the Civic Club and its illustrious membership. got to me first! - Victor December 13, 2013 Dear Friends, Please join Congresswomen Tammy Duckworth and me
On the radio.
I will be talking pensions and politics with host Dick Kay on WPCT Progressive Radio 820 AM Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3. Those who want to listen and live outside the signal area can catch it live streamed here. Dick Kay is a long-time Chicago reporter covering politics. Should be fun.
From TRS. Here are the nuts and bolts of SB1. If your state representative or senator voted for it, as them to tell you what this says and explain it to you.
From TRS: Effective Date The effective date of the law is June 1, 2014. It is highly likely that a court challenge to the law’s constitutionality will delay the implementation of the law beyond June 1. It is equally likely that thelegal effective date of the law will remain June 1, 2014, for purposes of calculating COLAs, the creditable earnings cap, retirement age and the forfeiture of future CO
Pension thieves.
Sylvana Tabares is the Democratic Party House Representative from the 21st District which includes Little Village. She was elected with heavy financial backing from the corporate reform group Stand for Children in her race against Rudy Lozano. She attacks police, fire fighters, state employees, teachers and state university employees. Approach with care. She acts like a Republican and is dange
Pension thieves.
Sylvana Tabares is the Democratic Party Representative from the 21st District representing Little Village on Chicago’s near south west side. She was heavily funded in her race against Rudy Lozano with corporate dollars from Stand for Children. It is no surprise then that she would go after police, fire fighters, state public workers, teachers and state university employees. Approach with care.
Hugh proposes an election strategy.
Dear Fred: Let us assume that a viable third party candidate does not emerge in the upcoming election for Governor. What do we do? Those in power like to rig the election process in their favor. Maybe we can turn the tables. Can we use the election process against them? A possible strategy for the March Primaries: If your present Illinois State Senator or Representative is a Democrat who voted an
Tony at the Red Line Tap.
I greeted Sean and nodded to Tony. “Bottle of Brugse Straffe Hendrik,” I said. “Room temperature.” “Cool, dude” said Sean in a voice somewhat garbled by his pierced tongue. Tony stared at the ESPN Classic Sports which was showing the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Lipton Tea 250. “Any news about Marty’s TV career,” I asked? “Oh, man. She quit that. Hooked up with a mandolin player in a blue grass
DEC 12
NEA to retirees: Plan ahead. What?
DVR to Illinois teacher retirees: Hope you made good retirement plans. H/T: Ken Previti So, maybe the NEA didn’t hear about Senate Bill 1. Or they’re trying to be helpful in some weird way. But a little more than a week after the Illinois’ General Assembly passed and the governor signed a bill cutting our retiree pension the NEA posts a cover story on their web site suggesting ways to make our
The Illinois senior tax. Retirees pay 25%. Corporations pay zero.
Reader Phil writes: All calculations indicate most retirees will lose 25-35% of their revenue stream over the next 20-30 years under the new law. This has the same effect as taxing us seniors by a rate of 25%. So we now have a tax system in Illinois where vulnerable and modest income retired public employees are taxed at a rate of 25% and millionaires are taxed at 5% (set to return to 3%) and huge
Pension thieves.
Michael Connelly is a Republican State Senator representing Wheaton’s 21st district. State Senator Michael Connelly voted for cutting retiree pensions and then wrote: “Dear constituent: Thank you for sharing your opinion with me regarding Senate Bill 1. As the son of a retired public school teacher and public school nurse who rely on their pensions for retirement and the brother of a current
Lee R. Talley. Reform this! A citizen’s guide to government reform in Illinois.
- Lee R. Talley is a retired teacher from Tinley Park. So…I went to my bank this week to see my loan officer. Upon shaking hands and sitting down, I proudly stated, “I regret to inform you that the original mortgage agreement I signed back in 2002 is no longer applicable.” The officer paused, a queried expression on his face, then asked, “Why?” I replied, “When I signed that contract I had every
Life in Rahm’s Chicago. Rangel is a distraction? From what? From who?
Rangel and Rahm. A thumbs up. Juan Rangel resigned as head of the United Neighborhood Organization last week. Yesterday The Mayor claimed Rangel was a distraction. What are we being distracted from? We are not being distracted from the fact that the state’s largest charter operation is under federal investigation. We are not being distracted from his close ties to The Mayor. He was Rahm’s electio
DEC 11
Glen Brown. The preamble to SB1. Madigan tries to justify the breaking of a contract.
- Glen Brown is a teacher and writes a wonderful blog. Preamble to Senate Bill 1: “At the time of passage of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, Illinois has both atypically large debts and structural budgetary imbalances that will, unless addressed by the General Assembly, lead to even greater and rapidly growing debts and deficits. Already, Illinois has the lowest credit rating of
Pension Thieves.
Greg Harris is a Democratic State Representative from the 13th District on Chicago’s north side. He targets older people, retired police, fire fighters, public service workers, public school teachers and state university employees. Approach with care. He should be considered a Republican and dangerous.
Rauner. Rahm. And Juan Rangel.
Last week Juan Rangel resigned as head of the United Neighborhood Organization, the largest charter school operator in Illinois. Dan Mihalopoulos of the Sun-Times reported: Juan Rangel, longtime leader of the clout-heavy United Neighborhood Organization, is out as UNO’s $250,000-a-year chief executive in the wake of a scandal that cost the group millions in state funding and led to a federal inve
Bev Johns. Maximize our 2014 options.
is a Special Education advocate and contributes to this blog frequently. We have been engaged in a conversation about the coming elections. Readers are welcome to join in. Tuesday on national TV, Governor Pat Quinn said what we call the pension gutting bill was ”a good model for the whole country.” (Morning Joe, MSNBC) There are two things that are worse than Pat Quinn as Governor of Illinois. On
DEC 10
Great article in the Niles Spectator. Local teachers give “F” to new pension law.
BY NATASHA WASINSKI for Sun-Times Media |The Niles Spectator: With 25 years of teaching under his belt, Steve Senf had expected to step down from his technology post at Emerson Middle School in five years. Sandy and Mike Deines, both retirees from Maine South High School, were recently looking to upgrade their 12-year-old van. But the educators say their spending plans have been put on hold since
Dan Biss’ sick joke.
Senator Dan Biss is one of the leading pension busters in Illinois. Our S.O.R.E chapter of IEA Retired confronted him at his district office prior to the vote to cut constitutionally protected pension benefits. Yesterday I received countless copies of an announcement Biss sent to constituents. Biss is hosting a community meeting ON RETIREMENT SECURITY. Greetings,
Diane Horwitz and Rinda West. Last week the legislature dealt a blow to teachers.
Diane Horwitz is a Moraine Valley Community College retiree who lives in Evanston. Rinda West is an Oakton Community College retiree who lives in Chicago. The following was published in the Springfield State Journal-Register. President Barack Obama recently cautioned the nation about “a dangerous and growing inequality.” As retirees, we feel that state policies are contributing to this worrisome
Pension thieves.
Robyn Gabel is a Democratic State Representative from the 18th District of Evanston. She targets older people, retired police, fire fighters, public service workers, public school teachers and state university employees. Approach with care. She should be considered a Republican and dangerous.
untitled
I am publishing the names of every Illinois legislator that failed to vote for language of the Illinois Constitution protecting public service worker pensions. I will post this every Tuesday. Every name. Every week. Pension thieves in the Senate: Y Althoff Y Radogno Y Raoul Y Rezin Y Biss Y Brady NV Clayborne P Collins Y Connelly Y Jones, E. Y Mulroe Y Sandoval Y Silverstein Y Cunn
The harder the mayor works to kill a public discussion of this dangerous idea, the better it starts to sound.
In June of 2012 we collected signatures in Logan Square for an elected Chicago school board. Nobody turned us down, except the City Council and the Mayor. An elected school board for Chicago is a very good idea. That’s why I went door to door with a petition to get the idea on the ballot back in the summer of 2012. Nobody refused to sign the petition. Not one. It was the easiest petition to ge
DEC 09
George Schmidt: “No teacher will vote for Quinn.” But I can’t agree.
- George Schmidt publishes Substance News. Fred, I’d phrase it this way: Pat Quinn has a unions problem. From the time he picked Paul Vallas as his running mate, he had signed his political suicide note. His signing the Pension Theft legislation was just the inking of the note. But let’s not forget that the birth of corporate “school reform” — long before Arne Duncan and Race to the Top — was brou
The unions have a Quinn problem.
From the Ward Room: So toxic is the fallout from the pension reform bill, Quinn’s problems with unions may well extend to state legislators who sided with the governor: Yet nearly all of the public employee unions have grown unalterably opposed to endorsing or donating to Quinn—and possibly all Democrats who voted for the pension bill. … “I can’t imagine any of those legislators who voted for the
Senator Iris Martinez voted for #pension theft but says she was against it. Representative Berrios voted against #pension theft but was for it. Bizarro World!
The other day my State Senator Iris Martinez wrote me a letter explaining her vote for #pension theft. Martinez believes the bill is unconstitutional and unfair to pension system members. But she decided to voted for it so that it could be ruled unconstitutional. Get it? Me neither. This was topped by the letter I received from my State Representative Toni Berrios. Berrios has been in office a
Funny? How am I funny?
Senator Bertino-Tarrant and Representative Manley, It is interesting to see the Governor and legislative leaders smiling and laughing as the Governor signs the bill stealing millions of hard earned (and paid for) pension dollars from retirees. What a happy time for them and a sad time for Illinois! How will they look when the Illinois Supreme Court strikes down the law? They will have wasted ma
Heavenly reward v Secure retirement.
Hi Fred, The following essay is the evolution of several emails between my sister, Betty Dietz, and myself over the weekend. It began with just random thoughts while typing then turned into this final product. We began by reflecting on how the Catholic school students viewed those students attending public schools when we were growing up. Then we moved on to Mike Madigan’s pension decisions and
Pension thieves.
Ira Silverstein is a Democratic State Senator from the 8th District representing parts of north side Chicago and Skokie. He targets older people, retired police, fire fighters, public service workers, public school teachers and state university employees. Approach with care. He should be considered a Republican and dangerous.
Bev Johns. What should be done about the governor’ race?
What to do about the race for Governor of Illinois will be the subject of much discussion over the months leading up to the March primary and November general election. All options for governor on the table seem bad to me. I have been active in Will Guzzardi’s challenge to incumbent House member Toni Berrios. I will pull a Democratic ballot and will leave the top of the ballot blank. Nor will my
DEC 08
Sunday reads.
In a private office in the Thompson Center with no press allowed, Squeezy signs the #pension theft. Why are they smiling? Another battle by parents with CPS to keep a public school open. Now that he’s dead, and can cause no more trouble, Nelson Mandela is being mourned across the ideological spectrum as a saint. Imagine. It was 33 years ago. When did “reform” become a bad word. We must reclaim
DEC 07
Can somebody please explain Senator Iris Martinez to me. She is my State Senator.
Chicago Democratic State Senator Iris Martinez. She’s my State Senator. But I don’t understand her. On Tuesday she voted for SB1. She is a pension thief. But on Friday she sent a email to me and her other constituents which said she voted for SB1 because she was against it. I have heard versions of this story from other Representatives and Senators who I have talked with these past view weeks.
What will the courts do?
I will say that I don’t think people should make much of (House) Speaker (Michael) Madigan’s comments that he believes the law will be upheld. What else is he going to say? In interviews with News Bureau Business & Law Editor Phil Ciciora, two University of Illinois law professors discuss the constitutionality of pension reform bill passed by the Illinois Legislature and signed into law Dec.
George Schmidt. “First they came for…”
George Schmidt publishes Substance News. The voting on SB1 showed how the Democrat leadership will try to play this from now on. First “downstate” — then Chicago. No sooner had SB1 passed than Rahm Emanuel’s talking points (and distortions) were being blared as “news” in the Tribune, Sun Times, and TV. But this time around, it’s going to be different, starting with the governor’s race. It’s sad th
Keeping retirement weird.
Ron Antonelli for The New York Times. From left, Mark Kerr, Dorothy Kerr, Chrystal McArthur and Richard White, who were longtime administrators at Rutgers. This was a tough week for Illinois geezers like me. Oops. This is where my retired friends text me about calling ourselves geezers. But I say we should embrace the term. Turn an insult into a proud self-description. I keep saying that we are