A published report says many elected county officials throughout Illinois are getting hefty pensions -- some more than $100,000 -- even though at least some of their careers were spent working only part time.
The Chicago Tribune reported Sunday that hundreds of people were able to join the pension system for elected county officials that raised enough eyebrows after it went into effect in the late 1990s that lawmakers have since tightened the rules.
Under the plan, elected officials must work 20 years to qualify for pensions of 80 percent of their salaries.
Other county workers must work 40 years to receive 75 percent of their pay. And the 80 percent is based on their last paycheck and not, like most government workers, an average of the last four years.
