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TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY POLICY

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The Staggeringly Stupid Six-Figure Problem Tearing Illinois Apart

July 26, 2017
 Staff

WRITER

Illinois is $15 billion in debt --- and trying to borrow more money to get out of the hole. The state has been threatened with a downgrade to junk bond status by credit rating agencies after two years of spending without a state budget.

Wednesday on radio, Glenn listed examples of the state's reckless spending on salaries:

• Chicago auto pound supervisor: $144,453

• State correctional facility nurse: $254,741

• Junior college president: $465,420

• University doctors: $1.6 million

• Deputy police chief: $240,917 (with overtime)

• School superintendent: $398,229

“You're going to love this one. If you’re a barber in the prison, you make $100,000,” Glenn said.

“Well, I mean, I’m sure they give really special haircuts,” Co-host Pat Gray joked.

There are thousands and thousands of people on the government payroll in Illinois:

• 20,295 teachers and school administrators

• 10,676 rank-and-file workers and managers in Chicago alone

• 9,567 college and university employees

• 8,640 State of Illinois employees

• 8,817 small town city and village employees, including 84 municipal managers out-earning every U.S. governor.

Additionally, overtime is a huge expense for the Prairie State. In 2016, Chicago alone paid $283 million in overtime to 1,000 employees, making an extra $40,000 each on top of salaries. Altogether, Illinois directs around $12 billion in cash compensation to six-figure government workers, including federal employees.

GLENN: Oh, and some really good news. Especially if you live in Illinois. Illinois is in trouble. It is teetering on junk bond status. So what does that mean? That means the state's about to collapse. Why is it in trouble? Oh, my gosh. We'll show you the stats of Illinois, and we begin there right now.

Open the books.com has done some research. It's on Forbes now. Why Illinois is in trouble.

Well, as they're flirting with junk bond status and the states -- the courts have said "You have to pay all of the pensions" let me tell you about some of the expenses that are not the pensions. These are current expenditures.

Right now, they have 63,000 government employees bringing in six figure and higher salaries. Open the books.com went. Illinois consistently one of the worst offenders. They have an auto pound supervisor in Chicago. Guy who runs the auto pound. Making $144,453. If you want to be a nurse in a prison.

PAT: Wow. Just where they impound vehicles?

GLENN: Uh-huh. Well, he's a manager.

PAT: Wow. That's a good gig.

GLENN: That's only 144,000. How about this? If you're a nurse at a state correctional facility.

JEFFY: Dangerous.

GLENN: You're he didn't up to $254,741. A nurse. Junior college. Junior college presidents making $465,420. There's university doctors -- okay. Remember the nurses were 254. How much are the doctors? University doctors earning $1.6 million and 84 city managers or mayors outearning every single U.S. governor.

PAT: Wow.

GLENN: But that's nothing.

JEFFY: They have to do an entire city.

GLENN: They have 20,295 teachers and school administrators that are paid like the superintendent Joyce Carmine 398,229. Park schools district teacher 384 --

PAT: Wait, just for a teacher?

GLENN: Uh-huh.

PAT: A teacher is making $384,000?

GLENN: 20,295 teachers and school administrators. The top five salaries are in the south suburbs and not the affluent north shore. 10,686 rank and file workers in Chicago including 216,200 for rob Emmanuel, 400,000 for Ginger Evans, commissioner of aviation, includes a $100,000 bonus on top of their $400,000 salary. A deputy police chief made 240,917, and that's with 146,860 in overtime. Ramona Perkins.

JEFFY: This is a good gig right here.

GLENN: Pulled down police communications operator. 121,318 and overtime of 196,726.

JEFFY: Almost $200,000 of overtime.

GLENN: Her salary is 121. Her overtime is 196.

PAT: Wow.

GLENN: And, by the way, she's a operator -- police communications operator. That's what she's doing.

JEFFY: That's an important job.

GLENN: You have 9,567 college and university employees, including the southern Illinois junior college power couple Dale Chapman and Linda Chapman. The pair combined make $682,000 for working at Louis and Clark community college.

PAT: Doing what? What do they do?

GLENN: I think they run it.

PAT: Okay.

GLENN: I think they run it.

And then you have Fady Sharbell who is making 1.58 million.

PAT: Wait, doing what?

GLENN: These are college and university employers --

PAT: Employees.

GLENN: I'm sorry. Employees.

PAT: 1.58 million?

GLENN: You have Constantine making 1.4 million.

JEFFY: These are the doctors.

GLENN: Universal Illinois, you have 8,640 state of Illinois employees, including a contractual worker at the newly created department of innovation and technology making 258,000. You're going to love this one. If you're a barber in the prison, you make $100,000.

PAT: Well, I mean, I'm sure they give really special haircuts there.

GLENN: Wait, wait, wait. They're very hard.

PAT: And you want the inmates to be stylish; right?

GLENN: You do.

PAT: You want them to look good.

GLENN: So you have $100,000 barber at the prisons making $100,000.

PAT: That's crazy.

GLENN: But you have also at the prisons, the quote teacher of barbering who also makes over $100,000.

PAT: Well, how are the barbers going to know how to cut hair without a barber teacher?

STU: How can a barber barb?

PAT: I'm not usually shocked by this but those are shocking statistics. That is --

GLENN: In total, there is roughly $12 billion in cash compensation flowing to six-figure government workers when counting the 9,031 federal employees based in Illinois.

PAT: And then they're saying why are our finances so bad in this state? How do we go bankrupt?

STU: Well, and it goes even deeper than that because after these people retire with $185,000 salaries, they get pensions based off of those salaries that carry them for the rest of their lives.

PAT: Yeah, they'll get three-fourths or two-thirds of their salary for the rest of their lives. That's a heck of a lot of money.

GLENN: Some Illinois K through 12 schools are spiking salaries and padding pensions. Data reveals nearly 30,000 teachers and administrators earned $100,000 plus. However, 20,295 only -- so 20,295 out of the 30,000 are actually employed. The other 9,305 are retired and receiving their six-figure pension.

This is absolutely unbelievable. And it's not going away because all of them have unions. And so the state is saying "You have to pay the pensions because the unions made the deal with the government. They're still making this pensions. They're still paying those pensions. They're still making new covenants with the guys coming in now saying okay. Yeah, I'm going to pay you $100,000 now. But I'll pay you 196,000 in overtime to get your pension up so you'll have a six-figure pension for the rest of your life. Oh, and you only have to work here 20 years.

STU: Think about how -- we -- a lot of conservatives will say pensions are okay. And a good idea. And, you know, look, you enter into a situation where you -- that's part of the deal, and I honestly understand that. But what they're doing is telling you, you know, I'll pay you Thursday or Tuesday for a hamburger today.

GLENN: I'll pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.

STU: They're just saying we're not going to pay you what you're worth now. What we're going to do is send this out over a long, long period of time so you get paid for a lot of years that you do nothing.

That is not a good philosophy.

BOMBSHELL: Here's what newly released audiotapes expose about Biden-Ukraine quid pro quo

On the radio program Thursday, Glenn Beck sat down with chief researcher Jason Buttrill to go over two bombshell developments that have recently come to light regarding former Vice President Joe Biden's role in the 2016 dismissal of Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin.

"Wow! Two huge stories dropped within about 24 hours of each other," Jason began. He went on to explain that a court ruling in Ukraine has just prompted an "actual criminal investigation against Joe Biden in Ukraine."

This stunning development coincided with the release of leaked phone conversations, which took place in late 2015 and early 2016, allegedly among then-Vice President Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Ukraine's former President Petro Poroshenko.

One of the audiotapes seems to confirm allegations of a quid pro quo between Biden and Poroshenko, with the later admitting that he asked Shokin to resign despite having no evidence of him "doing anything wrong" in exchange for a $1 billion loan guarantee.

"Poroshenko said, 'despite the fact that we didn't have any corruption charges on [Shokin], and we don't have any information about him doing something wrong, I asked him to resign,'" Jason explained. "But none of the Western media is pointing this out."

Watch the video below for more details:


Listen to the released audiotapes in full here.

Use code GLENN to save $10 on one year of BlazeTV.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multiplatform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.

TIMELINE: What Susan Rice's declassified email reveals about Trump's 'Obamagate' claims

A recently declassified email, written by former National Security Adviser Susan Rice and sent herself on the day of President Donald Trump's inauguration, reveals the players involved in the origins of the Trump-Russia probe and "unmasking" of then-incoming National Security Adviser, Gen. Michael Flynn.

Rice's email details a meeting in the Oval Office on Jan 5, 2017, which included herself, former FBI Director James Comey, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, former Vice President Joe Biden, and former President Barack Obama. Acting Director of National Intelligence, Richard Grenell, fully declassified the email recently amid President Trump's repeated references to "Obamagate" and claims that Obama "used his last weeks in office to target incoming officials and sabotage the new administration."

On Glenn Beck's Wednesday night special, Glenn broke down the details of Rice's email and discussed what they reveal about the Obama administration officials involved in the Russia investigation's origins.

Watch the video clip below:

Mark Levin: People don't remember the SHOCKING extent of Obama admin's 'police state tactics'

Fellow BlazeTV host, Mark Levin, joined Glenn Beck on his exclusive Friday episode of "GlennTV" to discuss why the declassified list of Obama administration officials who were aware of the details of Gen. Michael Flynn's wiretapped phone calls are so significant.

Glenn argued that Obama built a covert bureaucracy to "transform America" for a long time to come, and Gen. Flynn was targeted because he happened to know "where the bodies were buried", making him a threat to Obama's "secret legacy."

Levin agreed, noting the "shocking extent of the police state tactics" by the Obama administration. He recalled several scandalous happenings during Obama's "scandal free presidency," which nobody seems to remember.

Watch the video below for more:


Use code GLENN to save $10 on one year of BlazeTV.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn's masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution and live the American dream.

Higher ED must shake political bias

Colleges and universities should be home to a lively and open debate about questions both current and timeless, independent from a political bias or rules that stifle speech. Unfortunately for students, speaking out about personal beliefs or challenging political dogma can be a dangerous undertaking. I experienced this firsthand as an undergraduate, and I'm fighting that trend now as an adjunct professor.

In 2013, Glenn Beck was one of the most listened to radio personalities in the world. For a college senior with hopes of working on policy and media, a job working for Glenn was a ticket to big things. I needed a foot in the door and hoped to tap into the alumni network at the small liberal arts school where I was an undergrad. When I met with a career services specialist in early March 2013 about possible alumni connections to Glenn Beck, she disdainfully told me: "Why would you want to work for someone like him?" That was the beginning and end of our conversation.

I was floored by her response, and sent an email to the school complaining that her behavior was inappropriate. Her personal opinions, political or otherwise, I argued, shouldn't play a role in the decision to help students.

That isn't the kind of response a student should hear when seeking guidance and help in kick starting their career. Regardless of the position, a career specialist or professors' opinion or belief shouldn't be a factor in whether the student deserves access to the alumni network and schools' resources.

Now, seven years later, I work full time for a law firm and part time as an adjunct teaching business to undergraduate students. The culture at colleges and universities seems to have gotten even worse, unfortunately, since I was an undergrad.

College is a time to explore, dream big and challenge assumptions.

I never want to see a student told they shouldn't pursue their goals, regardless of their personal or political beliefs. College is a time to explore, dream big and challenge assumptions. I never got access to the alumni network or schools' resources from the career services office.

Lucky for students in 2020, there are several legal organizations that help students protect their rights when an issue goes beyond what can be handled by an undergraduate facing tremendous pressure from a powerful academic institution. Organizations like Speech First and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), for instance, are resources I wish I knew about at the time.

When I experienced mistreatment from my college, I spoke up and challenged the behavior by emailing the administration and explaining what happened. I received a letter from the career services specialist apologizing for the "unprofessional comment."

What she described in that apology as a "momentary lapse of good judgement" was anything but momentary. It was indicative of the larger battle for ideas that has been happening on college campuses across the country. In the past seven years, the pressure, mistreatment and oppression of free expression have only increased. Even right now, some are raising concerns that campus administrations are using the COVID-19 pandemic to limit free speech even further. Social distancing guidelines and crowd size may both be used to limit or refuse controversial speakers.

Students often feel pressure to conform to a college or university's wishes. If they don't, they could be expelled, fail a class or experience other retribution. The college holds all the cards. On most campuses, the burden of proof for guilt in student conduct hearings is "more likely than not," making it very difficult for students to stand up for their rights without legal help.

As an adjunct professor, every student who comes to me for help in finding purpose gets my full support and my active help — even if the students' goals run counter to mine. But I have learned something crucial in my time in this role: It's not the job of an educator to dictate a student's purpose in life. I'm meant to help them achieve their dreams, no matter what.

Conner Drigotas is the Director of Communications and Development at a national law firm and is a Young Voices contributor.