Family Taxpayers Foundation

ABC News: Six-Figure Public Employee Pensions

This website was featured on the local ABC News on May 16, 2007, and website contributor Bill Zettler was interviewed. Here is an excerpt from the report:

Even the pension of former U.S. president Bill Clinton is less than many of Illinois top state pensioners. So who are these 100 retired Illinois employees currently paid the highest state pensions?

"Ninety-four are educators," said Bill Zettler, state pension critic.

Zettler started compiling pension stats five years ago after he questioned how his suburban school district was spending money. What he found stunned him.

"There are over 1,100 teachers who have pensions of over $111,000 a year and they can retire at age 55," said Zettler.

Zettler's findings, drawn from public records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, are posted by The Champion Foundation that fights public spending abuse and works for educational system reform.

Zettler says many people have a misconception that school teachers are poorly paid. While the average pay for a teacher in Illinois is about $57,000 dollars a year, nearly 3,500 teachers make more than $100,000 year. Most work only nine months a year.

Click here to watch the video and read the full text.

Click here to view the Top 100 Illinois Taxpayer Funded Pensions.

Click here to read "Illinois Needs Pension Reform" and other articles by Bill Zettler.

Posted May 17, 2007.