Dear teachers who light the spark of curiosity in young minds, firefighters who charge into the inferno to save strangers, police officers who stand as sentinels in the night, and all you public sector warriors who stitch the fabric of our communities together – this is for you.
You are the quiet architects of society, the ones who show up when the world feels frayed at the edges. Without your steady hands, our schools would echo empty, our streets would grow wild, and our safety nets would unravel. You don't do it for the applause; you do it because it's who you are – selfless stewards of the public good. In a nation often frazzled by politics, your contributions are the enduring glow that keeps us all warm. We see you. We need you. And from the bottom of our collective heart, thank you.
But love, as any true admirer knows, sometimes demands tough words and sacrifice. Today, that love compels me to whisper – no, to shout – a warning. The system you serve, the one that promised to honor your sacrifices with dignity in retirement, is buckling under its own weight.
And the culprits? Not you, the rank-and-file heroes grinding day in and day out. No, it's the unchecked power of unions – once your fierce protectors – now bargaining in smoke-filled rooms with politicians who owe them their seats. Taxpayers? We're the silent partners left holding the bag, our voices drowned out while promises pile up like unpaid bills.
Let's pull back the curtain on those pensions you’ve earned through years of devotion. Public sector pensions are defined-benefit plans, a noble concept: Work hard, retire secure, with a guaranteed payout funded by... well, us. Taxpayers foot the bill through state and local budgets, contributing year after year. But here's the rub: Politicians, eager for union endorsements, sign off on ever-richer benefits – higher payouts, earlier retirements, lavish health care add-ons – without setting aside the cash to back them up. These are unfunded liabilities, IOUs that stack higher than a skyscraper, borrowed against a future that may never deliver.
To better understand the problem, look at the numbers on Truth in Accounting's Data-Z website, the gold standard for unvarnished fiscal truth. Across the 50 states, unfunded pension debt alone hovers near $1.3 trillion – that's trillion with a T – a black hole sucking in resources despite "balanced budget" laws in 49 states. Add in cities, and the crisis deepens: Chicago, that Windy City beacon, stares down a $40.9 billion financial hole, translating to a staggering $40,600 "Taxpayer Burden" per resident. Illinois as a whole? A $172.8 billion chasm, leaving every taxpayer on the hook for $38,800. These aren't abstract figures; they're the gap between the retirement you were promised and the shortfall that could slash benefits, spike taxes, or bankrupt the places you call home.
Rank-and-file union members – you, the teachers grading papers late into the night, the cops patrolling in the rain – need to grasp how this machine ticks. Your union negotiates at the table, extracting concessions from pols who rely on your dues for campaign war chests. In 2024 alone, labor unions spent over $280 million on politics, with the vast majority of the funds flowing to Democrats, their favored allies. It's a virtuous cycle for them: Unions fund the campaigns, politicians greenlight the deals, and the cycle spins on – all while the funding ratios for pensions languish below 60% in many states. Promises made, but the vault stays half-empty.
Look no further than Chicago's own mayor, Brandon Johnson, a former organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). Elected in 2023 with the union's muscle behind him – including a massive turnout operation and financial firepower – he's now delivering: union contract wins that sweeten pay and perks, even as the city's pension funds teeter on the brink. It's not malice; it's the math of loyalty. And it's echoing nationwide – from Los Angeles to New York, where unfunded retiree health care alone tops $43 billion in the Big Apple. Unions were born in the fires of exploitation, shielding workers from corporate greed. God bless them for that. But today, it's the taxpayers – you and I footing 100% of these escalating costs – who need shielding from demands that outpace reality.
Here in Illinois, the punchline stings with truth: "Go work for the state – you'll have it made, doing next to nothing for a fat paycheck." It's a joke whispered in bars and barbershops, born of frustration with tales of cushy gigs and golden parachutes. And yes, it caricatures the dedicated souls among you who do indeed bust their humps. However, the stereotype persists because the system rewards inertia over impact, rendering public service a mere formality rather than a calling.
Don't get me wrong: There are good people in these trenches, hearts full of service, sleeves rolled up for the greater good. You joined to teach, to protect, to heal – not to game the system. However, it doesn't feel like public service anymore. It feels like union service, where the agenda is allegiance over accountability, bankrupting cities and states one deferred payment at a time. Illinois, perpetually dead last in fiscal transparency, exemplifies this: Governors like J.B. Pritzker dodge SEC scrutiny over underfunded pensions, kicking the can while liabilities balloon.
Remember ERISA? In 1974, Congress saw the wreckage of corporate pension failures – companies promising the moon, then leaving workers with lint in their pockets. They then passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which mandated strict funding rules, fiduciary duties, and transparency for private plans. It was a triumph, saving millions from destitution. Yet the government, in its infinite wisdom, exempted public pensions from those same safeguards. "Rules for thee, but not for me," they shrugged, blind to their own capacity for the very mismanagement they decried. Today, that hypocrisy haunts us: states and cities mirror the scandals that ERISA addressed, but without the guardrails.
Public servants, this is your letter, your mirror, your call to action – not against your unions' history, but for their future. Demand the truth: full funding ratios, annual audits, and taxpayer seats at the table. Politicians aren't squirrelling away your retirements; they're gambling them on tomorrow's votes. If we don't course-correct, it hurts everyone – you with clawed-back benefits, us with crushing taxes, and our shared communities crumbling under the debt.
You deserve better than broken promises. Let's reclaim public service as the noble pursuit it was meant to be – for you, for us, for the America we all build together. With love and urgency.