Closer Look: Lawmakers weighing pension options

All I can say...

For sure, there will be a major pension-reform bill passed in the IL General Assembly this time. Madigan's or Cullerton's or some combination of the two, count on it!

As for a "choice"...

...between health care coverage or a cost-of-living (COLA) raise?

A choice?

As one who did not go to a doctor for probably 20 years (with the exception of a trip to the emergency room for a kidney stone), there is no "choice". The great unknown of medical care is the big, bad wolf standing on your doorstep huffing and puffing and ready to blow your financial world away.

Example: Just received a hospital bill for my one-night stay...$40,000. That does not include the surgeon's fee and related expenses. (Have yet to receive the bill for my one-week follow-up stay. Promises to be an eye-opener.)

Being old...

...and eligible for Medicare (and having TRIP coverage as supplemental), not to worry. Had to open my checkbook Saturday and make my very first payment...$4.49. (I mean, for some reason, nobody had even asked for a co-pay so far...maybe because of the Medicare coverage.)

Even with Medicare coverage, if this old CAT is given a "choice", it will be a no-brainer...health insurance! One would have to suck up a lot of COLAs to touch uncovered medical expenses.

HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE IS NOT AN OPTION.

You can be 67 years old, never had as much as a broken bone, never spent a night in a hospital bed, safe and secure behind your door, rolling on the floor laughing at the sounds of huffing and puffing, when all of a sudden...WHOOSH!