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 Forrest Ashby had proven his loyalty, according to an email
sent in 2012 by House Speaker Mike Madigan’s closest confidant and uncovered by
WBEZ.
Former lobbyist Mike McClain told state officials Ashby had “kept his mouth
shut” about “the rape in Champaign” and “Jones’ ghost workers.” And as such, he
should be spared from discipline.
He was. And now he will be handsomely rewarded.
Ashby will receive an estimated $2.7 million in pension payments over the course
of his retirement, according to a response from the State Employees’ Retirement
System to a Freedom of Information Act request and life expectancy tables from
the Social Security Administration.
In 2018, Ashby retired at age 54 after nearly 30 years of working for the state.
Over the course of his career he contributed just $120,717 to the pension
system, an investment he has already recouped just two years into retirement.
In addition to his pension, Ashby was hired to work on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s
gubernatorial campaign on McClain’s recommendation.
These benefits are not uncommon for career state workers in Illinois. And they
are not necessarily the fault of Ashby. They are the result of unsustainable
promises that have left Illinois with the most severe public pension crisis in
the history of the U.S. The state’s $241 billion in pension debt is the worst in
the nation despite two record income tax hikes since 2011 and a 111% increase in
taxpayer contributions.
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Through accumulation of unprecedented state debt,
Madigan has built an army of political foot soldiers who owe
generous pensions, early retirements and other perks to the
speaker’s protection. A 2014 Tribune investigation identified more
than 400 current or retired government employees who moonlight as
political workers for Madigan or donate regularly to his campaigns.
That’s a conservative estimate.
The only responsible way out of Illinois’ pension debacle is to
structurally reform pensions to control the growth of future,
unearned benefits so they are in line with what taxpayers can
afford. Or lawmakers can continue as they have for the past 20
years: Let pension spending grow more than 500% and crowd out
one-third of spending on essential government services.
Reforming future pension benefits growth through a constitutional
amendment is the only way to ensure the retirement security of
government workers, protect taxpayers and provide the public
services Illinoisans value.
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