May 24 2008
Illinois Democrat Politicians = Political Pool Sharks
I was perusing the headlines of the on-line version of my former hometown newspaper, The Telegraph, and I noticed the following eye-catching title. “Former legislator getting golden parachute.” Before clicking the link, I thought Chicago Democrat. It came as no shock to read that the swindler in question is former state senator Carol Ronen, Democrat from Chicago (7th District.) From The Telegraph:
CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago newspaper reports that former State Senator Carol Ronen worked only eight weeks in Governor Rod Blagojevich’s office earlier this years but is being rewarded for her brief service with a golden parachute.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the job in the governor’s office means that the 63-year-old Ronen will receive nearly $38,000 in increased pension pay a year for the rest of her life.
Ronen’s stint as a Blagojevich senior adviser is enabling the governor’s one-time Senate floor leader to get a $102,000-a-year state pension. Ronen will thus earn 35 percent more in retirement than she did as a $75,301-a-year legislator.
Had Blagojevich not hired Ronen and had she retired from the Senate at this time, her pension would be $64,005 annually.
For 8 weeks of what I’m sure was strenuous labor as senior adviser to Daley’s puppet, Carol Ronen was given a windfall that depending on pension tax rates, is sweeter than winning the state lottery! According to the FAQ page of The Illinois Lottery site, a jackpot of $1 million (assuming you don’t want to lose 49% by taking a lump sum) would be payable in a 26 year annuity. The federal tax would be 25% and the state tax would be 3%, depending on the winner’s filing status. Therefore a $1 million jackpot winner would bring home about $27,700 per year for 26 years. Hmmm… I wonder if the odds are better selling your soul and becoming a member of the corrupt Chicago political machine than if you went to the convenience store and purchased a ticket?
Not only will Ronen retire with a pension that is considerably more than her salary as a state sponge, I mean senator, but she also has the honor of being a Democrat superdelegate! She is powerful as well as rich. I know you’ll be shocked that she has endorsed fellow Chicago machine member Barry Obama. I wonder if she also had to attend a blessing ceremony at the home of domestic terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrne when she initially ran for the Illinois House?
[…] Illinois Democrat Politicians = Political Pool Sharks […]
This is just one example of why politicians need to be held accountable when it comes to our money; it’s a reason why I’m for a balanced budget amendment and like The Fair Tax so much (the Fair Tax would bring transparency to how our politicians spend our money). This should be a huge example of the differences between the parties–one that advocates the machine, the other wanting to repair the machine but as we have seen in recent years, the difference is smaller than one may think. Where’s Newt and the 94′ congress when you need them?
Ian,
I agree that we need The Fair Tax or a reasonable facsimile and total transparency!
Well Sam, this makes one wonder what kind of job Carol Ronen had at the Governors Office? Is Blagojevich related to Eliot Spitzer? This is so far fetched and shocking that the public should be questioning the Governors competency. He must be paying her to keep her mouth shut or for some other service. Maybe he’s related to Bill Clinton? There’s got to be something up. This needs investigating.
In California it would be recall time. But now that wouldn’t surprise anyone would it? I just can’t see the citizens of Illinois taking this sitting down. I mean that’s stealing from the citizenry. This guy needs to be impeached. I can’t believe that the citizens will put up with this kind of misuse of public Funds. This is extortion.
BA,
There has been recent efforts to get this jackass recalled. Unfortunately Chicago corruption holds to much power. It would appear that this story might of been part of the Friday afternoon news dump, the kind that those releasing information time so that the smallest number of people are likely to see it.
The biggest problem with exposing this type of obvious wrong-doing is, in my opinion, the same general apathy or lack of intention that has enabled the move toward socialism in our nation. People generally don’t seem to pay attention. They hear snippets from mainstream media, but don’t do any digging. Of course there is also a sense of resignation that the corrupt Illinois Democrats are going to do pretty much whatever they want and we can’t do a thing about it.
Like I said when I was campaigning for Duncan Hunter, the odds night be insurmountable, but I will continue to do what little I can.
[…] machine lottery by "working" 8 weeks for the governor and adding 38 K a year to her pension.http://conservablogs.com/conservativecommonman/2008/05/24/illinois-democrat-politicians-political-po…Illinois Lottery ResultsLatest illinois lottery results from City Lotto Free Lottery. Get your lotto […]
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