Working the system

Perfect example of why public sector unions need to go. From the Chicago Tribune:

Special pension deal a windfall for some county officials
To thank Bill Maio for his years of public service, his former colleagues on the DuPage County Board named a street after him.

County taxpayers are paying him back in far more lucrative ways.

Capping a career in which he often called for fiscal restraint, the retired Itasca politician now gets a $100,000-a-year pension. That's for 30 years of work � only five of which were full time, the rest as a part-time board member.

Emphasis mine. People should be compensated for their work but this is egregious. A bit more:

Maio arguably got the best deal of them all.

The brash Republican � a onetime Harley-riding private investigator known for lining up votes � contributed just 11 percent of the total cost of his pension. That's the lowest contribution rate of any of the five and far lower than the typical government retiree.

Fine for me but not for thee... A Republican who called for fiscal restraint but when this opportunity shows up, he grabs it. And his part-time service on the board:

The part-time office had its perks, including health insurance. That was good for Maio, who had his own insurance agency and, at times, was a private investigator and ran security at a teen juice bar.

But serving on the board wasn't financially lucrative. By the mid-1990s, it paid about $25,000 a year, with the pension formula of any county worker: Retire at age 60 with 20 years and get 35 percent of your pay. The percentage tops out at 75 percent after 40 years.

Lots more at the site -- and we wonder why we are in such dire financial straits. The rot is at the city and county level as well as at the top...