Constitution needs change on pensions

A reader offered his solution for fixing the Illinois pension crisis. My question is: Why is nobody talking about changing the Illinois state Constitution with regard to pensions?

I'm not one to change constitutions lightly, but the one sentence added to the 1970 Constitution regarding pensions is nothing essential to our form of government and certainly was not a provision that was debated with public input to ensure a government that best represented the people and that had their best interests in mind.

Somebody wanted to protect a benefit that was too good to be true and likely to be looked at in future budget discussions. So this provision locked it up, and politicians could act like this was untouchable.

If and when people start talking about fixing the Constitution with regard to pensions, we will no doubt be flooded with stories about former public employees just scraping by on a measly pension, as if we are required to provide a generous middle class lifestyle for life for all former state employees.

But those who are serious about correcting our pension system will find outrageous, even criminal abuses of our system, things like career end promotions that boost one's lifelong pension payments; people retiring in their 50s, living off the state, meaning, everybody else pays them generously while they go out and get another similar job, six figure pensions with full health insurance.

I wouldn't charge the recipients of these benefits with criminal behavior, but those who made them possible should be held responsible for criminal abuse of the public trust and public money.

Larry Craig

Wilmette