Illinois Spends $2.5 Million for Jobs Requiring a Fourth-Grade Education

Illinois Review reports:

“If you don’t have a college degree you’ll never get a good job.”

That is the advice of most every parent and sensible person in this country.

But in Illinois one can earn $60,000 after mastering only four years of elementary education. What kind of position requires the keen intellectual prowess of a rising fifth-grader? A bridge tender!

What’s a bridge tender? Glad you asked. A bridge tender is the fellow who raises and lowers drawbridges and other similar bridges. In Illinois a bridge tender can earn $60,000. The bridge tender has to be able to recognize that a boat or ship is approaching and flip the necessary switches to stop traffic and raise the bridge so the boat passes safely – in simpler terms the bridge tender is a crossing guard. That’s the job description that can earn someone $60,000 or more a year. In an environment where police officers and teachers are being laid off due to severe budget cutbacks and fiscal irresponsibility (Illinois has a $13 billion deficit), the government pays $60,000 for a position requiring nothing more than a fourth-grade education.

That's the Illinois Way.