App Maps Out the Highest Educator Pensions in Illinois

Guest view by Open the Books' Adam Andrzejewski

New numbers show that the 7,499 ‘highly compensated,’ six-figure school administrator/teacher annuitants cost Illinois taxpayers nearly $1 billion per year. But in just six years, the problem of six-figure pensions will be three-times worse.

Now, after recent Illinois Supreme Court decisions confirming that pension benefits are constitutionally guaranteed, the public employee gravy train is running faster than ever.

In a recent look at educator pensions at Forbes, we discovered that by 2017, Illinois income taxpayers will be on the hook for more than 10,000 educator pensions paying more than $100,000. The number of six-figure pensions increased by 57 percent in just the past two years – from 4,767 2013 to 5,930 in 2014.

But, it quickly gets much worse. Our data and analysis at OpenTheBooks.com shows that by 2022, over 20,000 Illinois teachers/administrators will have pensions exceeding $100,000 annually.

Northern Illinois school districts are driving the majority of $100,000 pensions, but income-taxpayers across the whole state guarantee the retirement annuities for everyone.

In fact, 7,193 pensions for over $860 million in annual payouts were conferred by districts in the Chicago metropolitan suburban area. Only 306 six-figure pensions totaling $36 million in annual payouts were conferred by school districts in the rest of the state.

You can use this interactive map to see how many six-figure educator pensions were conferred in your local school district. The results just might surprise you.

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