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Senate President Wants Teacher Pension Reform
(IRN)--The president of the Illinois Senate wants to change the way teacher pensions are funded.

Under current law, only 1.8 percent of the state's contribution to teacher pensions goes to Chicago teachers, who account for about 20 percent of the state’s teachers.

"Chicago property tax payers pay the bulk of the employer's contribution," Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) says. "But the suburbs and Downstate school districts pay very little into the system. We must change that."

State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) doesn't say Cullerton is wrong, just that Downstate and suburban schools can't afford that obligation. He says school districts Downstate and in the suburbs are "tapped out" when it comes to property tax, so he doesn't know where the money would come from if the pension responsibility was shifted.

The state puts $2.5 billion into the Teachers Retirement System every year, all but $44 million for Downstate and suburban teachers' pensions.

(Source: Illinois Radio Network)
03 07 11 by Newsroom
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