Brad McMillan — the guy who, at a public meeting, falsely accused me of spreading misinformation — has been appointed to the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission. As a commissioner, he will get $36,000 of our tax money. That’s a typical full-time annual salary for working men and women across Illinois. What do you think he’ll have to do to acquire that much of our hard-earned money?
Answer: Attend twelve meetings per year. That’s right. “Ethics” commissioners get $36,000 a year for the punishing job of attending one meeting a month to conduct hearings, prepare information materials, provide guidance, and receive reports — you know, the kinds of things that local planning and zoning commissioners do for free.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Illinois is 10%, and state funding for schools is second to last in the nation. But we have $36,000 to hand over to the politically connected to judge the ethics of others.
Paying a state commissioner a year’s salary for a few hours of work is an outrage. Making such expenditures to the already employed in the middle of a recession/depression is downright immoral. But evidently, it’s ethical… at least, according to Illinois.
The patronage army marches along, while our nation slides into the abyss. If Mr. McMillan were truly a man of “ethics”, he would keep the standard mileage rate and donate the rest to a local food pantry. Yeah, that’ll happen……..
“The patronage army marches along, while our nation slides into the abyss.”
That is beautifully written.
Anything in political that has “ethics” in its name is misnamed. Politicians just do not understand what the word means… after all, most of them are lawyers.
$36,000 is nothing. The government loses that much in the change that falls out of their pockets every day.
kcdad: how many of our citycouncil persons are lawyers? One, out of ten, counting the Mayor-care to retract?
Maybe he will donate his salary to the new museum…you know….buy another brick with his name etched into it…..
The PJStar in its print edition of Oct. 3 issued a correction saying McMillan has not yet been officially appointed to the post.
Let’s hope he never is appointed to the position. McMillan, an Ethics commissioner? Why not just appoint former governor Blago? I hear he needs the money.
I understand your point and am duly humbled.
A lawyer is someone who practices law, right? What do call someone who passes the laws the lawyers argue? A legislator, right? Do you really want to get into the technical differences? Writing the law, executing the law or arguing the law… what’s the penny’s worth of difference?
kcdad: Thanks for the input.
You don’t take one on the chin very well do you kcdad?
wacko,
Please. Are you going to fence with kcdad, or join the ‘outrage party’ CJ is throwing for all of us?
So you understand, that’s MORE than double what I am paid for teaching 300 students a year.
kcdad: Really? You make less than $18,000 a year? That number seems awfully low, since I recall reading that the average starting salary for a teacher in Illinois was much, much higher … and this was 10 years ago when I was an education reporter.
So I looked around and found this site: http://teacherportal.com/salary/illinois-teacher-salary
Which says this:
I don’t know where you are a teacher, but maybe you ought to consider sending out a few resumes.
Or maybe your math is off.
Ever hear of Adjunct Faculty? And actually, my numbers were high. Last year I made $16,500 and had over 300 students. I don’t apply for jobs because of the pay. I wouldn’t work for District 150, for example no matter what they paid. I am just naive enough to think that employers will pay their employees what they are worth… contrast my pay with some Professors who are paid 4 times (plus benefits) what I am and teach less students.
And don’t believe everything you read… “average Illinois teacher salary” means in a public, union represented school.
I’m going to have to second kcdad on this one. I’m part-time at two different universities in the area and I’m pulling in right around 21,000. Until I finish up my doctorate next year, I’m scrapping pretty hard to make ends meet.
A lot of community colleges and universities use adjuncts to “fill in the gaps” that they can’t fill with tenure-track faculty members because of budgetary restrictions. Students and parents, I think, would be shocked at how little most part-time faculty members actually make. Take ICC, for instance. Since I don’t work there. It’s roughly $300 (I think) to take a three-hour class. Imagine that there are 25 students in that class. So, the university is pulling in $7500 or so. The instructor probably pulls about 1,200 of that. Roughly. If the pay’s not crappy. As an adjunct, you probably max out at 9 credit hours a semester – otherwise, they’d have to pay you a full-time salary (I’m guessing). Which equals out to, what? 4000ish/semester? My numbers are most likely off a little bit – but probably not by much.
I taught in D150 last year and made pretty good bank – over twice as much as I make now. Having said that, I would walk away again ten times over to have the schedule, the students, and the administration that I have now.
Before anybody corrects my word choice, I did actually mean scrapping… and then I realized that “scraping” works too. Hmm. 🙂
The low pay for adjunct teachers is true. I have 2 friends that teach at ICC and BU.
I would argue that adjuncts don’t just fill in the gaps. Full time teachers are merely window dressing for the marketers and grant writers… adjuncts are the only reason those junior colleges can stay in the black…. and spend millions and millions on portraits of the school presidents…. and new buildings, new carpeting and new soda pop vending machines, useless over bloated administrations and programs like 6 sigma and other HR nightmares.
Now, now, kcdad! Don’t get your shorts in a twist! 🙂 All of your students love you and your teaching methods, but you already know that!
kcdad: are you drawing a pension also? How can you live on $16,500.00; I can tell from your blog writings that you are a very intelligent person, obviously capable of obtaining a good teaching position somewhere hee in the area.
“I am just naive enough to think that employers will pay their employees what they are worth” To quote Joe Wilson…liar. You don’t believe that for one second and any one of a zillion posts you’ve made on here would prove it.
Wacko: I’ll answer for kcdad (hope you don’t mind, kcdad) but if a person doesn’t have certification credentials, teaching jobs are hard to come by–except at the college or junior college level, where part-time positions are more plentiful than full-time (that’s the way universities avoid paying benefits–and public schools would do the same if it weren’t for unions). This brings up an important point regarding national health insurance. Teachers like kcdad (and from all accounts, not just his own, he is an excellent teachers) would be hired full-time if benefits weren’t involved. The same would be true of so many retail jobs–and especially, jobs in the fast food industry. I have long believed that the fast food industry preys on young people–asking them to work part-time with hours extending into the late night or early morning when they should be home getting ready for school. Maybe if everyone had insurance, the fast food inudstry (and the retail business) would hire adults on a full-time basis to make money to raise their families ,and the kids could stay home to study. Maybe service would be better, also.
wacko,
You and Bravo are starting to sound a tad dorky. Bravo, have you stopped to consider kcdad might be married [strange as it sounds….]? Could he be part of a two income family?
I know several adjunct professors etc, they have master’s degrees and/or PhDs. This makes them qualified to teach on a college level. Without a degree in education and an Illinois state certification, you can’t teach K-12…at least not in a public school.
Do a little i-net research when it comes to the plight of the adjunct professor in higher education, then tell me what you think.
11Bravo… to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln: That man is just like the steam boat with too big of a calliope, that every time it played the engine stopped; every time your mouth opens to make noise your brain stops working. (metaphorically)
You wouldn’t know the truth if it bit you. As usual, you can’t understand simple English. I wrote: “naive enough to think that employers will pay”… that indicates a hope that in the future… I have no pretense that I should be paid what I think I am worth when I take a job. I am willing to work for the minimum until I prove myself. And if my employer rewards me and pays me what I am worth then I will stay. If he/she does not, I will move on and give another employer a chance.
And just so you know.. Joe Wilson is the liar. He said the day after that occurred, he reacted that way because he was an immigration lawyer. He is not. He never was. According to his partners and other immigration lawyers in his home state… HE NEVER argued an immigration case.
How can I live on $16,000? BY not spending money and having any savings or retirement portfolio. You will be supporting me in my old age.
Nah, I think the real answer is that kcdad is married to a capitalist.
You met her CJ… come on.
NV, I didn’t say anything relevant to your counter-argument are you sure you don’t have me confused for another poster? As for how kcdad can live of off $16k a year that is simple. kcdad is married to Sharon and is living off of her generous government pension all the signs, including her answering on his behalf as she did a few comments ago, point to this being true.
Completely joking, but it was too easy not to say it. 🙂
11bravo – Cute! but I hope you didn’t miss my real point about jobs and health care.
I think the real answer is that kcdad is married to some body with capital
11Bravo,
My apologies….
I blame CJ.