City workers, taxpayers deserve better

The Chicago Sun Times in an editorial recently criticized teachers, nurses, library assistants and truck drivers for suing the city to retrieve drastic pension cuts imposed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Earlier this year, the mayor pushed for a bill to cut pension benefits by nearly 30 percent on city workers in the Municipal Employees and Annuity and Benefits Fund (MEABF) by lowering, and in some years eliminating, cost of living adjustments and increasing the amount that employees must contribute to their pensions. Many retired workers in the MEABF survive on modest benefits, an average of about $30,000 per year, that allow them to barely make ends meet.

One of the Chicago Teachers Union’s members covered by the plan is Arlene Williams, a former vision and hearing aide who is already paying nearly $1,000 in out-of-pocket monthly health costs, and stands to lose an additional $1,000 a year because of the new law. Arlene worries she may lose her home if she sees any further reduction in benefits. In an economy where rising costs and inflation are imminent, the future diminished retirement security for countless public servants, is all but inevitable. Instead of reducing the incomes of the most vulnerable workers in the city, the mayor could advocate for pensions for all workers. There are multiple ways to do this, and the Sun Times only offered a few.

The La Salle Street Tax could easily bring over $1 billion a year into city coffers, not to mention a graduated “fair” income tax at the state level, an end to toxic swaps, and reform of the city’s notorious TIF program. Has the mayor ever offered any revenue plan that does not involve cutting worker benefits, raking tax payers over the coals with red-light cameras, cellphone fees and the like? Perhaps it’s time for some real “shared sacrifice” where the mayor’s friends at Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Loop Capital give back some of the record profits they have reaped from the schools and the city. Tax fairness would allow retirees to enjoy a modicum of comfort in their golden years after a lifetime of service.

Jesse Sharkey, Chicago Teachers Union Vice President

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More pension shenanigansThe recent Sun-Times report on the pension situation involving former Chicago City Treasurer Stephanie Neely has moved me the point of complete disgust and helplessness. She worked 8 years in her position and as a result of having paid only $90,000 into the “special politician system” will be eligible for a pension payout initially of $34,176 every year (her payback complete in 4 years), increasing to $62,000 annually when she is 80 years old. She states that she has not yet made up her mind on whether or not she will collect the benefits. Of course she will, anyone would. My problem is not with Ms. Neely but with the elected officials, who we have put in place to be the stewards of our tax dollars, who have made this possible. I am not a resident of Chicago, but realize that everything in Chicago regarding pensions will eventually affect every resident of the state. If this is going on in the case of Ms. Neely, how much more money is being wasted statewide. I have been living, working, and voting in this state for 40 years. How do I get in on this deal? I have done everything “right” according to the way I was raised, but like most of us I still find myself on the outside looking in.John Bleyaert, Downers Grove A little parenting would go a long way

The Sun-Times editorial for Christmas Day was spot on in its title and intent: Peace on Earth begins at home. But then that was the last mention of home in the article.The first half of the piece clearly painted the picture of a world in need of peace, but then the article sought to identify the causes and solutions for this criminal behavior that is so rampant today. The answers to all this turmoil and violence and anger and killings come down to two things: schools and jobs.And this answer clearly shows why we are having these problems.A child’s character is formed moment by moment through its interactions with its parents. If the parents are firm, the child learns discipline. If the parents are indulgent, the child learns instant gratification. If the parents are patient, the child learns self-control. If the parents are loving, the child learns to love. If the parents are not home, because either one doesn’t live there or because the one or both are working, then the child’s character is formed through television, media, peers, the Internet, or just left to its own impulses.Children need to be taught honesty, hard work, discipline, self-control, love, respect for others, kindness, forgiveness, sharing, patience, perseverance, sacrifice, giving, mercy, compassion, helping others, generosity, integrity and humility. And where would they learn that? At home from their parents. Day care won’t teach that, and neither will the schools, although they used to do a lot of that before schools were scrubbed clean of everything having to do with God.We have tried so hard to promote sexual freedom that we have millions of children growing up with their mothers who never married, and the fathers are not there.We have tried so hard to get women out of the home and into the work force that there is nobody home to raise the children.We treat children like pets who only need a place to stay, something to eat, and a few simple life skills like potty training and how to put on a condom.We have tried so hard to remove religion, specifically Christianity, out of the public view and thought, and we are slow to see and admit the gaping holes it has left in the fabric of our society.Larry Craig, Wilmette