Tobin unfair to teachers

As a retired Illinois teacher, I feel compelled to respond to an article that appeared on the front page of the Dec. 17 edition of the Daily Herald.

The article was about a group headed by Jim Tobin who listed names and pension salaries of retired teachers and administrators and municipal retirees.

When I read the article, it sounded as though Tobin wants the public to believe that taxpayers are shouldering the entire pension of every retired teacher. For the record, teachers have always had 6 to 7 percent of their monthly income taken out and put directly into the Teacher Retirement System. Compare that to the much smaller percentage that all other workers pay into the Social Security system. Big difference.

At the present time, currently working teachers are now paying 9.4 percent of their salaries into the TRS. Teachers do not pay into the Social Security system. In the state of Illinois, teachers are not allowed to double-dip into two different retirement systems and, therefore, do not receive Social Security benefits ... even though most have worked outside the education field and accrued many deserved rights to it.

Tobin also thinks that retired teachers should pay for half of the cost of their health care premiums. They already do this. Even when retired teachers go on Medicare, they continue to pay one-half of that premium for their secondary carrier — Medicare becoming their primary carrier.

In all fairness, Tobin also should list the names of retired, elected government officials and their pension salaries, including their contribution to their health care premiums. If Tobin wants to reform teacher pensions, then he should be fair and also include all other government workers, elected or not ... and their pensions.

Joni Lindgren

Elgin