Bonuses for Illinois public sector retirees cost millions

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP) — A statewide pension system for retired local government workers and school district personnel is paying out bonuses that cost taxpayers more than $41 million last year.

The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald (http://bit.ly/1b1JOXU ) added up the costs in a review of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. It obtained the data through an open records request.

Known as the "13th payment," the bonuses paid each July are on top of monthly pension checks and have escaped scrutiny during the state's pension reform efforts.

The average bonus for 2013 was around $340. But payments went as high as $7,600.

Madeleine Doubek is chief operating officer of the voter-advocacy group Reboot Illinois. She says "retiring from a career in the public sector shouldn't mean you get to win a little lottery jackpot every year."

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Information from: Daily Herald, http://www.dailyherald.com