87% of Valley View School District, “VVSD”, retirees are on track to collect $1 million during retirement before their private sector counterparts.
Click to read more of Cedra Crenshaw's explosive article: http://thenumbercrunchers-bolingbrook.com/valleyviewschool.html
Share your comments. Tell us what you think.
When you read the article, be sure to keep in mind that Cedra's husband will be one of those collecting $1 Million before you and I. The only difference is that he'll get his money from the taxpayers of Glenbard 87 instead of VVSD.
ReplyDeleteArticles like this are absolutley ridiculous! We are paying pensions as part of a compensation package, guaranteed bye the Illinois State Constitution, that has been historically lower than what a private company would be paying. If the person retires and at age 55 after 30 years of service and then lives for another 30 years, so what! They worked and put in their time in teaching the children and now deserve to be compensated in their retirement. What is so wrong with having and/or paying pensions?
ReplyDeleteWhy not bitch and moan about the prices you pay for everyday goods and services? the CEO's of those companies make more in an hour than the blue collar working class folks like me and the rest of the world make in a year.
Why not go after the Koch Brothers and the wealthiest 1% who are raping and pillaging this country?
Cedra, you are a real piece of work!
Cedra, if you had won your election, would you have accepted the pension and perks that go with the position?
ReplyDeleteI highly doubt you would have said no to the pension, if you qualified for it.
Hypocrite!
I'm sure she would. Her husband accepts his salary paid for by the taxpayers (it has more than doubled in the last 10 years). I'm sure that he'll accept his retirement check, paid for by the taxpayers, when the time comes.
ReplyDeleteGovernment employee pensions far surpass those in the private sector..you need to study. By the way..Pat Claar collects $92,246 per yr in pension while Roger gets $48,214 per yr from his yrs at Wilco. Wait until Roger rakes it in from his pension as Mayor if he ever retires from his $150,000 job. Top Social Security is only about $26,000 per yr. Social Security pensioners got zero COLAs for the past two yrs. Government pensions are getting guaranteed 3% annual increases even when cost of living was close to zero. Taxpayers are getting screwed. Governor Quinn dumped all the state income tax increase into the government pension toilet. We need to reform the government pensions to be more in line with the private sector.
ReplyDeleteLook at Drew Peterson. In 2007, his pension was $72,000. I'm not sure what it is now. I couldn't find him listed on the openthedoors website.
ReplyDeleteSo there should be no excuse for private sector companies to be moving overseas or slashing employees, right? No pension payments, healthcare benefits slashed,no raises or COLA's for the NON-UNION employees.
ReplyDeleteAt least unionized employees would have had a seat at the table and not let the corporate giants, who make all the money and do none of the work, take all of the money.
BTW, Pat Claar, Roger Claar and other teachers and goverment employees all earned the benefit by working in their profession for 30+ years. The pension wasn't just handed to them.
You Tea Party nuts are all delusional!
Anonymous 6:31am:
ReplyDeleteWhat's with the name calling?
Cedra's article bring up some excellent points about bloated pensions funded mostly by taxpayers.
I'm not a Tea Party supporter. Just a taxpayer that's scared as hell about where our country is headed.
Several things…..
ReplyDelete1)Don’t blame the players blame the game. If I had known then what I know now, I would have become a teacher 30 years ago and gotten the sweetheart retirement plan.
2)The teachers pay into the retirement fund. However, if the politicians in Springfield would have funded the pensions at the time instead of writing IOU’s (and using the money to help their friends and supporters) the state wouldn’t be in this mess.
3)Don’t blame the unions. I’m not a big union supporter but unless I’m mistaken these were NEGOTIATIONS. Meaning the people looking out for the tax payer’s money gave in to the demands to get the union’s support (is that why the union donated over $10,000 to support the friends of Valley View in the last election?).
4)It doesn’t matter what school district you live in we are all paying into everyone’s pension fund with our tax dollars. That is why in the past school districts gave the “big bump” in pay the last 3 years of a teacher’s / administrator’s career. The district saved money on the front end knowing that the retirement pension is funded by the state and not the local district. So, I pay you less now, but you get more at retirement.
Why are jobs going overseas? That is a very lengthy and involved discussion……
But for starters, look at the unions (again it was a negotiation) for the car manufacturers. How does a normal joe pay for a car made by someone making over $60 an hour (wages & benefits). Who is worth $ 60 an hour to put 4 ties on a car? What education and skill level is involved in performing that job?
Then there are the tax rules. If I own a company with a plant overseas and that plant makes a profit, as a corporation I get hit with over a 35% tax rate on that money if I bring the money back into the US. So, in order to reduce my tax burden and make more money for the shareholders, I reinvest that money in my overseas operation avoiding the significant taxes. Make the tax rate 15% and that money comes back to the US to be invested in the company, plants, and jobs here in America.
Most important of all……when people scream raise taxes on the corporations….Rule # 23 Corporations don’t pay taxes, they pass the cost of higher taxes on to the consumer with price increases. So, who really pays the corporate taxes? Us the consumers..
Excellent points made, Anonymous 9:08am. You summed it up perfectly.
ReplyDeleteLegal Eagle said...
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 6:31am:
What's with the name calling?
Cedra's article bring up some excellent points about bloated pensions funded mostly by taxpayers."
Too bad she didn't acknowledge that her husband will benefit from what you call a bloated pension funded mostly by taxpayers. Their family has already benefited by triple digit increases in his salary in the last few years.
What name calling are you talking about?
ReplyDeleteNot hypocrite because she fits the definition.
1. hypocrite
(1) A person who engages in the same behaviors he condemns others for.
(2) A person who professes certain ideals, but fails to live up to them.
(3) A person who holds other people to higher standards than he holds himself.
Can't be teaparty either because that's a term she uses for herself.
"Cedra Crenshaw: Tea Party Please Help Me Fight The Chicago Machine"
http://beforeitsnews.com/story/92/051/Cedra_Crenshaw:_Tea_Party_Please_Help_Me_Fight_The_Chicago_Machine.html
"When you read the article, be sure to keep in mind that Cedra's husband will be one of those collecting $1 Million before you and I. The only difference is that he'll get his money from the taxpayers of Glenbard 87 instead of VVSD."
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, should we be creating public education pension millionaires? Are educators paying their fair share?
I do not think we should be creating public education pension millionaires and the data shows that educators do not pay their fair share. In fact, VVSD teachers pay NOTHING towards their own pensions.
District taxpayers pay 100% of VVSD educator pension contributions according to the Illinois Policy Institute report: Teacher Pensions Who's Really Paying? http://illinoispolicy.org/uploads/files/teacherpensions10-13.pdf
"Articles like this are absolutley ridiculous! We are paying pensions as part of a compensation package, guaranteed bye the Illinois State Constitution, that has been historically lower than what a private company would be paying. If the person retires and at age 55 after 30 years of service and then lives for another 30 years, so what! They worked and put in their time in teaching the children and now deserve to be compensated in their retirement. What is so wrong with having and/or paying pensions?"
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, the bloated public educator pension system is ridiculous!
VVSD teachers pay NOTHING towards their own pensions.
VVSD taxpayers pay 100% of VVSD educator pension contributions according to the Illinois Policy Institute report: Teacher Pensions Who's Really Paying? http://illinoispolicy.org/uploads/files/teacherpensions10-13.pdf
The only pension those in the private sector will have to depend on is social security which is a mere fraction of what most public educators will receive.
Basic math is what is so wrong with the financially unsustainable Teacher's Retirement System.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, TRS is the eighth worst funded pension system in the nation and it's on the path to insolvency! That's what's wrong with it!
"Cedra, if you had won your election, would you have accepted the pension and perks that go with the position?"
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, should we be creating public education pension millionaires? Are educators paying their fair share?
Did you know that VVSD teachers pay NOTHING towards their own pensions?
VVSD taxpayers pay 100% of VVSD educator pension contributions according to the Illinois Policy Institute report: Teacher Pensions Who's Really Paying? http://illinoispolicy.org/uploads/files/teacherpensions10-13.pdf
"I'm sure she would. Her husband accepts his salary paid for by the taxpayers (it has more than doubled in the last 10 years). I'm sure that he'll accept his retirement check, paid for by the taxpayers, when the time comes."
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, should we be creating public education pension millionaires? Are educators paying their fair share?
Did you know that VVSD teachers pay NOTHING towards their own pensions?
VVSD taxpayers pay 100% of VVSD educator pension contributions according to the Illinois Policy Institute report: Teacher Pensions Who's Really Paying? http://illinoispolicy.org/uploads/files/teacherpensions10-13.pdf
Why should those in the private sector have to fund the pension contributions, pension spiked salaries and the bloated pensions of public educators many of whom are on track to become pension millionaires?
Do you support reforming this financially unsustainable system?
"BTW, Pat Claar, Roger Claar and other teachers and goverment employees all earned the benefit by working in their profession for 30+ years. The pension wasn't just handed to them."
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, are you aware that according to the Congressional Budget Office, the Illinois Teacher's Retirement System is the eighth worst funded pension system in the nation?
Did you know that VVSD teachers pay NOTHING towards their own pensions?
VVSD taxpayers pay 100% of VVSD educator pension contributions according to the Illinois Policy Institute report: Teacher Pensions Who's Really Paying? http://illinoispolicy.org/uploads/files/teacherpensions10-13.pdf
Did you know that pension spiking and pension underfunding ignore basic math and are a major contributing factor to the financially unsustainable pension system?
Should we be creating public education pension millionaires when we have a financially unsustainable pension system?
"1)Don’t blame the players blame the game. If I had known then what I know now, I would have become a teacher 30 years ago and gotten the sweetheart retirement plan.
ReplyDelete2)The teachers pay into the retirement fund. However, if the politicians in Springfield would have funded the pensions at the time instead of writing IOU’s (and using the money to help their friends and supporters) the state wouldn’t be in this mess.
3)Don’t blame the unions. I’m not a big union supporter but unless I’m mistaken these were NEGOTIATIONS. Meaning the people looking out for the tax payer’s money gave in to the demands to get the union’s support (is that why the union donated over $10,000 to support the friends of Valley View in the last election?).
4)It doesn’t matter what school district you live in we are all paying into everyone’s pension fund with our tax dollars. That is why in the past school districts gave the “big bump” in pay the last 3 years of a teacher’s / administrator’s career. The district saved money on the front end knowing that the retirement pension is funded by the state and not the local district. So, I pay you less now, but you get more at retirement."
Anonymous,
1. I made it clear in my first article, Is There Really a Lack of Funding in Education, that the current system has been created by out of control union leadership and politically bankrupt politicians. I believe that the overwhelming majority of people who go into teaching do it because they really want to educate kids, not because they want to be used by out of control union leadership and politically bankrupt politicians. I do blame the game, and union leadership and politically bankrupt politicians have created this game.
2. The fact is, politically bankrupt politicians have been in bed with out of control union leadership because they both want the same thing: power. Union leadership who puts these bankrupt politicians in power can't keep blaming them for underfunding the pension system, because union leadership has been simultaneously gutting the system with pension spiking. They are both at fault.
3. The union is in essence negotiating with itself when it bankrolls candidates. The local union didn't shell out that money for nothing. The union makes financially unsustainable demands and has gutted their own pension system and now they are paying the price for it.
4. Yes, we are all paying for the financially unsustainable decisions made by out of control union leadership and politically bankrupt politicians.
Illinois raised income taxes 66% and corporate taxes 46% claiming unpaid bills would be paid. But instead of paying the $8+ billion in unpaid bills, they funded the pensions, Medicaid and $1.7 billion in NEW spending.
Everyone in the state is suffering because of poor financial decisions that ignore basic math.
"What name calling are you talking about?
ReplyDeleteNot hypocrite because she fits the definition.
1. hypocrite"
"(1) A person who engages in the same behaviors he condemns others for."
Out of control teacher union leadership ignores basic math and engages in pension spiking which takes money out of the classroom, gutting their own pension system and has the audacity to talk about corporate greed.
(2) A person who professes certain ideals, but fails to live up to them.
Out of control teacher union leadership claims they pay their "fair share" but VVSD educators pay NOTHING towards their own retirement according to the Illinois Policy Institute Report: Teacher Pensions Who's Really Paying? http://illinoispolicy.org/uploads/files/teacherpensions10-13.pdf.
Then they turn around and spike their pensions, putting many on the road to becoming pension millionaires.
(3) A person who holds other people to higher standards than he holds himself.
Teacher union leadership is so out of control that they have to conduct their "negotiations" in secret because they don't want the public to know just how greedy they really are.
Union leadership claims corporations and CEO's take from workers, yet teacher union leaders like Reginald Weaver, take from the very teachers they claim to represent. http://forthegoodofillinois.org/blog/2011/09/4-million-teacher-pensions-for-35-union-elites/
Reginald Weaver is pulling down an Illinois pension of $20,200/month based on his bloated NEA salary, NOT his salary as a teacher!
Ms Crenshaw,
ReplyDeleteIf what you say is true, we may have a problem.
Can you tell me what page of the contract this can be found? I read it and couldn't find it. I also searched the ISBE website and was unable to find anything. Do you have a link to the report filed with them?
How do the teachers get the money back that has been withheld from their checks for their pension?
ReplyDeleteCedra and Rhonda are no better when it comes to finding the facts than Bonnie, George and Boob "the Bulldog".
ReplyDeleteThrow mud against the wall and see what sticks. If you repeat bullshit enough times and nobody calls them on it, it is bound to be true to the uneducated.
Remember vote against Bonnie, Bob, George, Rhonda and Cedra for whatever office they decide to file for next year.
Anonymous 1:57pm, 2:00pm;
ReplyDeleteThis article specifically address the "VVSD Pension Millionaires", it's NOT a smear campaign against Cedra Crenshaw or any other community reporter.
I will NOT allow you to beat up on Cedra simply because she decided to publish an article you don't agree with.
I've politely asked several times that you "stick to the topic", but you continue to "clog the blog" with side garbage.
If you want a Slam Fest, take it to BB Patch or Topix. It will not be tolerated on this blog.
Bring some intelligent debate.
Going forward, your comments will be deleted.
Let's see if you have the guts to print this article.
ReplyDeleteCommercial Club Members Get Sweet Deal Pensions
In a post titled “Illinois Is Broke Peddles Broken Rhetoric,” about the Commercial Club of Chicago’s efforts to reduce pensions for public employees, I asked what I thought was a rhetorical question: “I’d like to know the size of Commercial Club members’ pensions.”
Well, it turns out someone has an answer. Not surprisingly, it’s the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union whose members would have their retirement benefits cut under a proposal drafted by the club’s Civic Committee. The Commercial Club’s ads claim that state employees are getting a “sweet deal,” better than 95 percent of workers in private industry. As it turns out, Commercial Club members are not in that 95 percent. They’re getting their own sweet deals.
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Commercial-Club-Members-Get-Sweet-Deal-Pensions-121632809.html#ixzz1bARa4n65
From AFSCME:
Chairman of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club: Abbott Laboratories CEO Miles D. White. When he retires, he will draw on not one but two defined-benefit pensions worth a combined $20 million. All this for a guy whose company’s stock fell 11% last year, and who announced the layoff of 1,900 employees in January (1,000 of them in Lake County)—a cut that followed 3,000 layoffs last September. Never fear, however; Miles White believes in shared sacrifice: His total compensation declined 8 percent last year—to $20.2 million.
Selected other members of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club:
W. James Farrell, retired CEO of Illinois Tool Works whose annual pension is $1.4 million.
John W. Madigan, retired CEO of the Tribune Company whose annual pension is more than $220,000.
Richard L. Thomas, a retired bank executive whose annual pension is more than $600,000.
R. Eden Martin rakes in more than $330,000 in compensation from two companies where he sits on the board—and that's on top of the retirement benefits he takes from the law firm, Sidley Austin, where he once worked. (Oddly enough for such a self-proclaimed champion of accountability and transparency, the firm's retirement benefit information is not publicly available.)
If you own stock in any of these companies, you might want to contact the board of directors and complain that the size of these pensions is hurting your shareholder value.
Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/Commercial-Club-Members-Get-Sweet-Deal-Pensions-121632809.html#ixzz1bARlwwah
Thanks Anonymous 3:34pm. Your facts present an alternative view. I will definately check into the links.
ReplyDeleteRhonda,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that you don't like the fact that people are questioning what Cedra Crenshaw is saying.
She is wrong when she says that the taxpayers of VVSD are paying 100% of the pension contributions for our teachers so it's no wonder that people will question everything else. Teachers in our district DO have deductions taken out of their paychecks for pension.
You can delete any comment that is made here but it won't change the fact that the her statement are incorrect.
Anonymous 4:06pm:
ReplyDeleteYou are wrong! Cedra's article has a graph that shows the total amount "contributed" versus the "amount collected". Which clearly shows retirees receiving significantly more than what they personally contributed.
Take the time to read her article in its entirety before making false statements.
The Number Crunchers welcome ALL VOICES. What we will not tolerate is cyber bullying, and name calling.
If you don't agree with Cedra's article, bring some solid facts to counter it. (There are some really good counter-arguments. Read them.)
Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteCedra said "VVSD teachers pay NOTHING towards their own pensions." That is WRONG! VVSD teachers do pay towards their pension.
Your website is about the numbers so I would think that you would address false statements like the one that she made.
Here's the link to read Cedra Crenshaw's complete article.
ReplyDeletehttp://thenumbercrunchers-bolingbrook.com/home.html
Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteCan you address the comments that Cedra Crenshaw made here earlier today? As a taxpayer, I want to know if the teachers are contributing to their pension or if we are paying 100% of it.
One of the problems with the argument Cedra makes is she assumes the pensioneers will never spend any of their pension payouts. She only takes into consideration the total amount of the pension year after year without expenses. Is that realistic?
ReplyDeleteIf those same teachers were to stay on the job, their salaries would be HIGHER than their pensions-so using Cedra's math-they would become "millionaires" even quicker, so why wouldn't the just stay on the job?
Teachers, cops, firefighters and other government workers ALL PAY INTO THEIR PENSION FUNDS faithfully every week or every two weeks depending on their payroll systems. The problem that has happened in recent years is the market tanked, so it made the pension system look worse than it really was. Secondly, Gov. Blagovich borrowed from the teachers pension fund and never put the money back. Third, the State of Illinois has historically underfunded, as have many local communities, the pension funds. The problem lies not with the employees (teachers, cops, firefighters and other govt. employees) but rather the General Assembly who approved this THEFT from the workers who put in their 30+ years and EARNED their pensions. Fourth,pension funds have their money invested (goes back to the second point) and the assumptions being made were in the 8-12% return were totally unrealistic! Ask any independent actuarial not hired by the state or local government entity.
Take a look at your tax bill and pay attention to the local portion, not the Will County portion of the bill. Look at the $ amount paid to the Village of Bolingbrook and under the heading of Pension you will see what your total portion of the pension payment is for all village employees. Depending on how much you pay in taxes most of them are under $100. Mine is $86.39. I live in the 204-U school district which eats up most of my tax bill and the pension amount is only $85.47.
The total amount I pay in pensions on my tax bill is only $323.69 and my tax bill is just over $6000. I think that is a bargain!
Are there abuses, pension sweeteners, yes, should they be addressed,yes,but many times they were put in place to get the higher paid employees to retire early, in order to save money upfront and replace them with people who would not be in that pay scale.
I hope the information I provided clears up some concerns about the "millionare" teachers and other government workers.
Rhonda, as you well know, numbers can be skewed any way the person wants them to be skewed. The blatant attack on teachers and other government workers is way out of line.
Anonymous 7:05pm:
ReplyDeleteYou make some good points that counter Cedra's argument. Whether you're right and she's wrong (or vice versus) is all a matter of opinion. It depends on how one views government, and government spending.
The Number Crunchers (TNC) sole purpose is to closely monitor how government spend our tax dollars, we report the facts, and encourage debate. It's that simple. The numbers are what they are.
How can we honestly deal with government spending and deficits, if we don't address the teachers union, government employees and bloated pensions?
There's no blatant attacks against anyone or any group. We simply view government spending differently.
If you feel so passionate about this specific issue, why not step out of the shadows, consider joining TNC as a volunteer reporter. Share your unique perspective with the community.
We welcome all voices. It's good for the community.
Rhonda, those are the facts and the numbers are what they are.
ReplyDeleteYou report on numbers with no alternative explanation to your claims, leading the reader to have to believe whatever you print.
So, will either you or Cedra care to explain if the million dollar pension numbers she reports, had taxes or expenses taken out or just total numbers with no explanation as to expenses?
The article still never goes after the root of the problem-it just hacks away retired teachers who worked hard to earn their pension.
BTW-if some of those people mentioned in the article or on that site were to work in the private industry, with their educational background (ie: Master's or Phd)and years served, would it be okay for them to retire with a pension like the ones they are receiving?
I, too, would like to know why Cedra said that we, as taxpayers, are paying 100% of the pension contributions for the teachers in Valley View School District 365U.
ReplyDeleteRhonda, are you going to delete her comment since it's wrong or are you going to allow your site to be used to spread false information?
Good morning All:
ReplyDeleteLater on today, we will publish Cedra's follow-up article on VVSD taxpayers paying 100% of the pension contributions.
Stay tuned.
That would be great Rhonda.
ReplyDeleteWill the article suggest what the teachers in our district do to get back the money that has been withheld from their paychecks?
Should they file a complaint with the state or the federal government for illegal withholds?
Pension reform passed last year. Teachers hired now will literally pay in more than they will take out after retirement. Look it up. They have to work until 7 years of age now, they pay in 9.4% of their salary. Never missing a payment as the State currently does. This means that a new teacher entering the plan at age 25 will accrue zero pension wealth until age 51. These teachers are going to pay a huge chunk of the money that is owed by the state. Had the state been responsible making the actuarial assumed payments as planned there would be no issue right now. This is on the State not the teachers. You cant skip 359 mortgage payments and then complain that your 360th payment is too high. That is precisely what the State has done. All I can say is good luck finding the young, smart, energetic professionals who once strived to be a part of this profession.
ReplyDeletesorry.....67 years of age :(
ReplyDeletePlease read my latest eye opening Number Crunchers article titled: Why Don't VVSD Teachers Pay Their Share of Pension Contributions?
ReplyDeleteLearn about another one of the dirty little secrets out of control teacher union leadership and politically bankrupt school board members don't want taxpayers to know: VVSD teachers do NOT pay their 9.4% share toward their pension contribution!
I understand why some of you wanted Rhonda to delete my comments...the redirection of millions of tax dollars from the classroom to pay for the teacher's portion of their pension contribution is UNCONSCIONABLE!
Where is the fairness here? "Fair share"?...not even close...more like NO share!
Anonymous 3:16
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what the Federal Government did with social security.....
In order to be soluble they'll have us, in the private sector, retiring at the ripe old age of 75.
As far as teachers having to contribute to TRS, the union will just negotiate larger raises….putting the burden of the teacher’s retirement on the local property tax payers instead of the state income taxes. I can see it now, a 2% raise and 4% into TRS or some other combination.
Cedra,
ReplyDeleteWhat difference does it make if the union negotiates a higher salary or if they pick up the pension portion?
There's nothing to hide. The union contract is available online for anyone that wants to see it.