South Central Reporter

The harsh reality that rising pension debt for retired educators now consumes almost 40 percent of all the funds allocated for school spending comes as no great surprise to state Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Effingham).

“That’s the elephant in the room in Springfield, pension costs,” Wilhour told the South Central Reporter. “When your pension costs are growing at a rate that’s way beyond where your economic growth is, it’s not sustainable. We’ve got to figure out a way to control the pension costs without hurting regular people.”

A new Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) report finds over the last 20 years, pension costs for retired educators has increased by 200 percent compared to just a 20 percent increase in classroom spending over that same period. In the last decade alone, the cost of educators’ pensions spending has eclipsed $5 billion, accounting for about 36 percent of the state’s total spending budget for school funding.

“Our cost drivers are out of control,” Wilhour said. “There is a real lack of willingness to deal with the problems. We’re never going to properly fund education until we deal with rising pension costs.”

As it is, educators are being forced to survive with less in hopes of keeping things afloat. According to IPI, hundreds of schools across the state may soon be forced to cut various programs and even lay off teachers as more and more state dollars are diverted to cover rising pension costs.  

“People say education is a high-priority, but the way we fund it says it’s really not,” Wilhour said. “Education funding is directly linked to our high property taxes, which have been crippling for the state. We’ve got to get serious about the overhaul that’s truly needed to get Illinois back on its feet.”

Wilhour represents the 107th District, which includes Greenville, Vandalia and Salem.