Stop pensions for DuPage county board

Recently, the Illinois General Assembly unanimously passed Senate Bill 2701 that would prohibit newly elected county board members from receiving pensions through the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. The bill awaits the governor's signature.

This legislation has prompted the McHenry County Board to withdraw from IMRF, citing challenges of accounting for hours spent on county business. Twenty-one county boards in Illinois have already opted out of the IMRF, including Winnebago, Peoria, Saline, Grundy and Rock Island.

The trend is clear. Taxpayer-funded pensions should not be a special privilege given to part-time county board members. Public service alone is a privilege.

For the DuPage County taxpayer, the pension burden for part-time elected officials is much greater than surrounding counties. Our board members' salaries are by far the highest of the collar counties. Currently, our members receive $50,079 annually, about to increase to $51,081. A vested pension would one day give participants over $40,000 per year for life.

During a recent Finance Committee meeting, I expressed my surprise to learn that the IMRF conducted an audit of the DuPage County Board last summer. Only board members that participate in the IMRF were notified. All board members, including myself, should have been included. By not informing all of us, we lost an opportunity to at least discuss the matter.

This is why on May 31, I sent a resolution that mirrors the McHenry resolution to members of our board who do not participate in IMRF and those who have stated they do not support this pension. The proposed resolution eliminates current as well as future board members from participating in the IMRF.

I hope my fellow board members will do the right thing for DuPage taxpayers.

Liz Chaplin

Downers Grove