The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
A letter from the Cook County Pension Board implying that pensions of county retirees might be in danger prompted hundreds of phone calls to county commissioners' offices from frightened pensioners.
The Nov. 19 letter, sent to all retirees from pension board executive director Daniel R. Degnan, said that a $104 million bond issue to fund pensions was being held up by the County Board.
"Delayed receipt of those funds will have a negative impact on the Pension Fund as we may be forced to liquidate assets potentially realizing investment losses due to current market conditions," the letter stated.
Though the letter also said pensions are secure, Commissioner Forrest Claypool said calls from frightened senior citizens swamped commissioners' phone lines, which were listed in the letter.
Claypool said County Board President Todd Stroger has "resorted to this bullying and fear tactic with seniors and pensioners to pressure the board to do something that's grotesquely irresponsible, which is to borrow money to pay day-to-day bills after he just raised taxes to the highest level in Cook County history."
Every board member agrees that the pension must be funded, Claypool said. "The only disagreement is how to pay for it."
Claypool contended that since the county is flush with cash from a $426 million sales tax hike and a $150 million tax anticipation note, it should not have to borrow the pension money.
Stroger's spokesman Eugene Mullins disagreed, saying the county will only collect two months' worth of the new sales tax revenue this year.
Lehman,Fannie,Freddie,AIG.Is Cook County next? Cook County has some of the highest retail sales taxes and property taxes in America.I guess the taxpayers might not be able to afford workers who retire at 50 years old.Anyway,would you want to be a bondholder of Cook County? For a look at how Barack Obama called
Todd Stroger:
"a good progressive Democrat"
For more on the decline of
Chicago.No word yet on whether Cook County will sell some of the 68,000 acres of land the county owns to raise cash.
