Two lobbyists work one day as teachers, get $100k/year pensions

Fortunately it's only 2 people (as far as we know) that used that loophole.

One day of teaching nets IL union lobbyists $100k-per-year state pensions

Two lobbyists with no prior teaching experience were allowed to count their years as union employees toward a state teacher pension once they served a single day of subbing in 2007, a Tribune/WGN-TV investigation has found.

Steven Preckwinkle, the political director for the Illinois Federation of Teachers, and fellow union lobbyist David Piccioli were the only people who took advantage of a small window opened by lawmakers a few months earlier.

The legislation enabled union officials to get into the state teachers pension fund and count their previous years as union employees after quickly obtaining teaching certificates and working in a classroom. They just had to do it before the bill was signed into law.

What they gonna be paid :

The state paid both men $93 for their one day of substitute teaching, but that’s just an appetizer. Piccioli will receive $1.1 million by the time he turns 78, and $1.7 million if he lives to 84, but that puts him in the cheap seats compared to his colleague. The Chicago Tribune calculates that Preckwinkle will get $2.8 million by the time he turns 78, and almost $4 million if he lives to 84. Their pension payments will exceed $100,000, or more than twice the average household income in the US — for working households, not retirees.

Where that loophole was coming from... well the same guys who got the pensions.

Although the bill received bipartisan support, the benefit to union officials was sponsored by Springfield Democrats showered by IFT campaign contributions during the 2006 elections.

Me thinks the democrats and republicans just don't read the laws and trust the lobbyists and pass whatever they want...

The state should not pay those two crooks... and maybe even should prosecute them.

That is messed up but the same crap happens even for those congressman who pass that stuff work 1 year in congress get lifetime benefits sounds familiar?.

Every single congressman needs to be fired can't say i think too highly of lobbyist and special interests.

Meh ... its Illinois;
unarguably the most corrupt state govt in the 50 states:
Noteworthy politicians from "the machine"

Mayor Richard Daily:"vote early and vote often!"
Rahm Emmanuel
Rod Blagojevich
Barack Obama...

A Chicago Tribune report says federal investigators have made covert tape recordings of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich as part of their corruption investigation.

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What's a little Senate seat bribery between friends? Sure, Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich is accused of trying to profit from the sale of President-elect Obama's newly vacant Senate seat. And he may have allegedly tried to force the newly bankrupt Tribune Co. to fire editorial staff members who were critical of him. And it's possible he traded favors for campaign contributions. But this is Illinois; as Robert Grant, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Chicago field office, told the press at the announcement of the indictment, "if it isn't the most corrupt state in the United States, it's certainly one hell of a competitor."

Read more: www.time.com...

www.time.com...

Originally posted by Vitchilo

The state should not pay those two crooks... and maybe even should prosecute them.

edit on 25-10-2011 by Vitchilo because: (no reason given)

Agreed, but technically these mfers did not break the law.

A second bill requiring that these two idiots pension be paid via state lawmakers pension fund would work though!

That way the same folks that passed the bill would feel the cost of the thievery and I bet they would think twice about the next payola bill they passed.

If we were to hold the political parties accountable for the money they have cost us by allowing their 'friends' to draft legislation, each one would owe us hundreds of billions.... but then... that's their whole scam in a nutshell, isn't it?

We know they don't read these things... hell, they won't even allow legislation that obliges them to read it. I happen to agree with Mark Steyn when he said “If a bill is too big to read, it's a good sign you shouldn't be passing it. Rule by anonymous technocrats is a form of tyranny, however benign.”

But in the end, it would be a great idea to calculate and report the actual cost to taxpayers of all the legislation drafted by political appointees, or other 'associates' and subsequently sponsored by political allegiances. It might produce sobering results.....

These two lobbyists are guilty of not objecting to the loophole..... in THEIR world, whether that's a bad thing or not depends on who the beneficiaries of the loopholes are.... which is precisely the problem we have today.... just look at the tax code, and the UCC, and many other bodies of regulatory work supposedly done for our benefit.

I blame the BAR.

Let's see, we're talking about unions in the liberal gone wild state of Illinois. You would have to look hard not to find corruption.

Originally posted by 46ACE
Meh ... its Illinois;
unarguably the most corrupt state govt in the 50 states:
Noteworthy politicians from "the machine"

Mayor Richard Daily:"vote early and vote often!"
Rahm Emmanuel
Rod Blagojevich
Barack Obama...

You somehow forget to include former Gov. George Ryan, the predecessor to Blagojevich?
Gov. George Ryan is serving two consecutive sentences in a Federal Prison for corruption..
Given your list includes 3 folks who have never been convicted of a crime I would have thought you would have included George Ryan? Oh...that's right ....he is Republican....nevermind.