Yesterday at a Blue Room press conference at the Thompson Center, Chicago- Sen. Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) and I unveiled Senate Bill 2499: government pensions for government work, period.

Union leaders who are not government employees are draining tens of millions from our city and state government pension plans. The Chicago Tribune called the practice at the city level, “pension corruption.” We’ve identified that the scam is even larger at the state level.

Watch the brief video of my remarks, here.

Abuse of public pensions is not limited to union leadership. The clouted non-profits are exploiting it too.

In fact, 3 of the top 6 municipal pensions go to retirees from private, non-profit organizations. Visit www.openthebooks.com and choose RETIRED; VILLAGE TOWNSHIP COUNTY. Pension payouts range from $15,000 to $20,000 per month.

But, it wasn’t enough to have sweetheart, insider access to the government pension; each organization also participated in extreme end-of-career salary spiking to maximize their lifetime payout.

• In 2001, the Park District Risk Management Agency- Chief Executive Officer made $203,813. By 2005, she had final year salary of $346,863. Review history, here.

• In 2006, the Illinois Association of Park Districts- Chief Executive Officer made $183,236. By 2009, he had a final salary of $341,414. That’s a spike of $158,178. Review history, here.

• In 2007, the Illinois Municipal League Executive Director made $379,348 in his final year- a stunning spike of $167,000! Review history, here.

Here’s the point: all this happened with little or no accountability or public oversight. These are not government entities. Their salaries were not subject approval by an elected board or elected public official. And the salaries determine the taxpayer guaranteed pension payout.

Let’s work together to stop the abuse. Forward this email. It’s time to end the corruption.

Adam Andrzejewski
For The Good of Illinois | Founder

PS: Call your member of the general assembly – Look up their name and phone number. Explain your strong support for SB2499. Please, get your family and friends to do the same.

The luncheon theme was “Metro East Miracle- Victorious Elections. Bold Leadership.” Gov. Pawlenty joined three victorious members of the General Assembly from the Metro East: Sen. Kyle McCarter, Sen. Sam McCann, and Rep. Dwight Kay. Last November, all three won difficult races despite long odds. Since the election, each legislator has spearheaded robust legislative victories.

Phyllis Schlafly gave the welcome speech. Ronald Reagan called her “brilliant” and she is an icon of the conservative movement. She proved that an activist can change the world from their kitchen table.

Click here for the Welcoming Address from Phyllis Schlafly.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is a bold leader who has experience winning tough elections. Pawlenty won two terms as governor of Minnesota. Known as a historically blue state, Minnesota is the land of Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Eugene McCarthy and Al Franken. Minnesota was a big government out of control. Minnesota had a crushing debt and runaway spending. Sound familiar? Without raising taxes, Pawlenty dramatically reformed government, cut spending and put Minnesota back on track.

Click here to watch Gov. Pawlenty deliver the keynote address.

Elections matter.

-Sen. Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon) led and helped draft the Senate Republican Caucus state budget- “Reality Check”. This plan would preserve the economic engine of Illinois. McCarter is a fighter for transparency, more auditing and the “Open the Books”. McCarter drafted legislation for a seven day “read the bill” time-out on legislation. McCarter was the first senator to “sound the alarm” with his resolution to bring in the feds to audit the state worker’s compensation system. Additionally, McCarter drafted the comprehensive workers comp reform legislation currently on the floor of the Illinois Senate.

Click here to watch Senator McCarter deliver his remarks.

-Sam McCann (R-Carlinville) offers a sea-change of political philosophy for citizens of the 49th senate district. McCann bested the 35 year iconic Democratic Demuzio dynasty. Deanna Demuzio voted for the draconian 67% income tax hike, billions in spending increases, civil unions, and was the chief sponsor of Rod Blagojevich’s Gross Receipts Tax. She was the Senate Democratic Whip for the Chicago Machine. McCann has drafted legislation around needed reforms. SB1568 would cut pay for lawmakers and executive branch constitutional officers by 10 percent. SB1317 would eliminate the legislative scholarship program. This program is abused by state legislators to reward donors, friends and family.

Click here to watch Senator Sam McCann deliver his remarks.

-Dwight Kay (R-Glen Carbon) drafted the audit of workers compensation legislation which House Speaker Michael Madigan embraced (HR131). The audit resolution passed the Illinois House 111-00. Fraud seems rampant within the system. Menards Correctional had 300 workers comp claims within a short period of time. Additionally, Kay is the only member of the general assembly to file tort reform legislation. He is also an expert on workers compensation. Recently, Kay led the fight against the proposed Madison County 1% sales tax hike which was defeated 81%-19%!

Click here to watch Nancy Kay- wife of Representative Dwight Kay- deliver her remarks.

Updated compensation analysis: click here.

For The Good of Illinois Banquet, Feb. 12, 2011. Theme: Government by the Governed. Adam Andrzejewski, CEO of For The Good of Illinois discusses the pay, perks and pension of the Palatine Village Manager. One compensation expert has valued that total at $351,000!

FOX Chicago Sunday: Karen Lewis & Bruno Behrend: MyFoxCHICAGO.com

MPAC Supports Senator Kyle McCarter from Gregg Durham on Vimeo.