Reconsider taking away 'sweeteners'

Regarding John Patterson's March 7 article "Mayors Seek an End to Pension Sweeteners": In all your wisdom, I see very little from the members of police pension systems. You seem to carry the banner for mayors and city managers.

I see they want to halt all enhancements to police and firefighters pensions until studies are completed. Why? There is not a downstate police pension bill that gets anywhere near legislative action that is not objected to by the Illinois Municipal League. It's been that way for years and years.

You use the figure 75 percent for funding. The last I heard was the state of Illinois Department of Insurance recommends 90 percent funding by cities and villages for the downstate pension systems. Most cities and villages fail to make any attempt to fund the system as they should and now they cry hard times. Do you think they could possibly look in their own backyard to cut costs before derailing a pension system that police and fire members have eked out? If you think one-half pay for 20-plus years of service is too much, you might think of sending the mayor or city manager out with a gun or fire hose to face the dangers required of police or firefighters.

As for audits, the Illinois Department of Insurance does the audits and it's available to cities and villages.

I have been associated with law enforcement since 1960, in uniform, juvenile, command and now retirement. As a member of one of the best and once the largest police associations in the state, I have even lobbied in Springfield. This same association was the founding father of the Police Fire Commission for Illinois as well as instrumental in the requirement for mandated training for all police officers.

The local pension boards are comprised of two active police officers, one retired police officer and two citizens appointed by the mayor. If, in the wisdom of the mayor, the correct appointments are made, that appointment might well be persons qualified in the investment of funds to sustain the pension system.

I live in a village that has six members on both the police and firefighters pension boards. The law only has provisions for five members. These boards have three and three. How do they ever break a tie vote?

The members of the pension boards determine disability pensions after long examinations by medical personnel. The two appointed members have a voice in disability pensions so the cities and villages are represented.

If the cities and villages expect to hire dedicated personnel in police and fire service fields, I suggest they reconsider their efforts to take the "sweeteners" away from them. Trust me, the men and women in police and fire services earn every penny you give them and more.

J.R. Rogers

Gurnee