Didech Joins Fight Against “Double-Dipping on Steroids”

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. – In an effort to fight against a practice commonly referred to as “double-dipping”, state Representative Daniel Didech, D-Buffalo Grove, is sponsoring legislation to prevent county and municipal board members from collecting their pensions until they’ve reached retirement.

“What’s happening right now is outrageous,” Didech said. “There is a loophole in the system that’s allowing elected officials to artificially inflate their earnings by abusing the pension system. That shouldn’t happen. The state needs to crack down on people who are gaming the system for their own benefit.”

A Daily Herald report found that at least 13 part-time suburban country board members are currently collecting pensions from the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) which they earned from their service as a board member, despite the fact that they are also currently being paid salaries as board members. This number includes six Lake County board members currently drawing a county board pension in addition to their county board salaries.

Didech is the House sponsor of Senate Bill 1236, which passed the Senate with bipartisan support in early April. The measure prohibits county officials from drawing a salary if they are supplementing their income by drawing from the pension fund. Didech is sponsoring the bill to stop county board members from abusing a loophole in the pension system.

“This is double-dipping on steroids. The pension system was established to provide a fair and modest retirement for individuals who are no longer working, but some county board members are abusing the system to unfairly spike their taxpayer-funded salaries. We need to close these loopholes that allow these politicians to exploit the system by collecting their pension before they actually retire,” Didech said. “I’m proud to sponsor this bill that helps reign in the systemic abuse of our taxpayer-funded pension funds.”

Additional media inquiries for Didech should be directed to his full-time constituent service office, which can be contacted at 847-478-9909 or info@repdidech.com.