Yesterday I received an email from a friend of mine asking me to sign an on-line petition created by DuPage County Board candidate Rafael Rivadeneira supporting the elimination of pension benefits for the DuPage County Board members. I have to admit that I had to think about it for a while, but I do support the position. Here is why…
When we were all kids, some us said things like “I want to be a senator!” or “I want to be president!” We made these statements because we want to change the world for the better. We didn’t want to be president for the pension. You can say I am being romantic about the idea, and you may be right, but the truth is that public service is supposed to be for serving the public. Public service is not for servicing ourselves. There are constant laments against the “career politician.” What a better way to discourage the potential “career politician” that makes decisions geared to assuring reelection and encourage the public servant that is making his or her neighborhood better for our children.
This is not to say that those board members that have not yet decided to support the elimination of their public pensions are all “career politicians” milking the taxpayers. Can you imagine going into work tomorrow and telling your boss that you shouldn’t get the benefits that they agreed to pay you? If you are like me, the answer is an emphatic “no.” This is why I have trouble saying that I won’t support a county board candidate that won’t sign this petition. It is easy to pass judgement on what another person makes, but difficult to hold ourselves to that standard.
County board members, and other elected officials however have that power to pass judgment on the benefits of other public sector employees. In these times where government budgets need to become leaner out of necessity our elected officials need to lead first by example. This is why I support the petition and encourage others to sign it. Below is a link to the petition, and I encourage you to give it a look and your signature.
“Eliminate Publicly Funded Pensions for DuPage County Board Members” http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/eliminate-publicly-funded-pensions-for-dupage/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=system&utm_campaign=Send%2Bto%2BFriend
One Comment
You make good points. But I have a slightly different view. Being a member of the County Board is not a full time job … by definition. It is decidedly part time work. How many part time, service based endeavors get lifetime pensions? Not many. In fact I think I can only name a few– and they are all political. Last, we as a society can no longer afford defined benefit plans as they currently exist for the full time employees who earned them. Restructuring such pensions is required to financially sustain them. How is a pension for a part time position then justified?
I declined the State pension and health care benefits and stand alone as the sole Senate sponsor of SB 2498 seeking to end all legislative pensions going forward. It’s the right thing to do.
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?GA=97&DocTypeID=SB&DocNum=2498&GAID=11&SessionID=84&LegID=62087