Letter: Help Rauner fix pension mess

Everyone knows the financial mess we're in and the large waste of money that pensions create.

Should we reward our workers for what they do? Yes. But having extremely out of proportion sums of money flowing to those that don't need it is ludicrous. In Mike Huckabee's speech for his bid for the 2016 Presidential Election, he mentioned that it's not right for the government to keep their pensions when they cut your wages and social security. He is right.

However, when your state is in debt, you have to make cuts. Since our state Constitution says that pensions are protected, the government cannot take them away fully. The choices that remain are amending the state Constitution to remove the pension requirement or passing a law that saves money, limits the pension expenses, and complies with the Constitution.

It's nearly impossible to do the first. Bruce Rauner may be willing to change this, but the state representatives would not be quickly on board.

The second route is what is will have to do. Rauner wants reforms that do not directly remove pensions but save state dollars. I'm not a financial expert, but Rauner is an experienced businessman. Many assume wealth equals corruption, but there are cases when wealth is an outward symbol of the hard work of an individual or team. Rauner has advisers and experience, as well as a mandate from the people to act. This is his time and he needs to take advantage of it. The recent Court ruling was correct, but pensions need to be fixed in. That's why the people elected Rauner. He'll find a way to fix this, just as long as Madigan and the General Assembly Democrats compromise.

Trevor Fox

Bluewater