Pensions wrongly criticized

I live in the worthless state of Illinois. I am a firefighter/ paramedic with a village, outside of Chicago. I have watched several shows concerning the poor condition Illinois finds itself in, almost all to do with the politicians.

I am under a pension system that uses a mix of tax dollars and contributions made by firefighters. The fund we are in is separate from the state pensions which I agree have been abused for years. As a group, we spend a great deal of time keeping the state away from our fund. Politicians talk about public pensions and we get lumped into the mess of bad funds.

Firefighters spend their careers risking life and health. Data comes in each year showing the damage done to our bodies. Recently two Chicago firefighters lost their lives in a fire. Thankfully, their families will be taken care of through the pension system.

When I finish my career I will make about $43,000 a year, a far cry from the numbers in some reports. I have no other retirement. We do not pay into SSI which won’t be there anyway.

I notice you don’t question the military’s pension system of which I am a veteran. The country is broke. Why don’t you attack that system? I’ll tell you why. Because it’s unpopular to do so. I guess its OK to attack firefighters since we only die at a rate of 100 firefighters a year.

I am near the end of my career and will move onto another part of my life. My suggestion to the politicians who question firefighters’ pensions is to strap on an air pack, grab a fire hose and put the fires out yourself. I have written to many politicians and have never heard a word in return.

Mark Mussario

Antioch