I can anticipate the comments about the money grubbing unions, but many of the SURS participants are in no unions, nor have they ever been. If you are the budget director at a State university, you are in SURS. If you are an IT director or staff, you are in SURS. These positions are not, nor ever have been, staffed of the union members.

So using the word “union” in this discussion is a red herring. Hint: All it does is signal your political persuasion.

Remember that people in the SURS do not pay FICA or Medicare, so they will not get social security. Even those who may work part of their career in substantial FICA jobs in addition to substantial time in the SURS program will have their Social Security cut significantly. Please see the “Windfall Elimination Provision” for some facts.

Raise your hand if you already knew this, Mr. Davis.

So what does it mean if the employee pays no FICA? It also means the employer (aka. the State of Illinois) does not either.

So tell me, how much would they have to raise tuition if they were paying into FICA? You won’t find out from reading this article.

That is the problem. Instead of paying FICA (which the state does not do), they should have been funding the SURS program over the years. The state has not done so. And Edgar was the worst; a deadbeat-dad governor in this regard. He broke the law. Public Act 86-273, effective August 23, 1989. I would like to see him go live where Blago and Ryan live.

So now the problems have come home to roost, and it has been demagogued so that the evil unions and teachers are the villains.

Sorry, that facts say otherwise.

If you compare the retirement of SURS to other higher education in Illinois, say IIT or the University of Chicago, you find that SURS is not as generous. That is a fact.

Memo to the news media: REPORT THIS

To the trollers who want to scapegoat unions, get the facts before you open your trap.

Just the facts, m’am.