LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Like it or not, crooked lawmakers earned their pensions

In a story in Monday’s SunTimes, Dave McKinney wrote about convicted and accused politicians who are receiving pensions from the state or other governmental units. This issue shows up periodically, with the stated or implied question: Why aren’t these pensions forfeited?

As a retired pension attorney with 35 years of experience, I can answer that the reason is these pensions were earned while the officeholder was working. This is the same reason teachers’ pensions cannot be retroactively cut.

Pensions are nothing but deferred compensation. They are fully earned while the pensioner was actively working. They are not gifts paid after retirement that are optionally withheld. Even a crooked officeholder rendered some service to the voters.

If you say that a crooked politician did not earn their pension because of crimes connected (or unconnected) to their office, then also sue them to claw back the salary they were paid as an officeholder. Their pension and former salary are the same thing. If you say politicians should not get pensions, then prospectively end pension eligibility for officeholders while they are in office, but before they render the services that entitle them to their pensions.

If an officeholder commits a crime, they should be prosecuted. If found guilty, they should be fined and/or put in jail to an extent that is commensurate with the crime. If they don’t pay the fine, maybe you can put a lien on their pension, but there should not be a law that cuts off 100% of an officeholder’s pension for any crime, great or small.

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