Double Dipping Government Employees Collect Pensions and Paychecks

Hinsdale police chief will collect pension, still work full-time

Hinsdale police Chief Bradley Bloom, right, will retire Feb. 22 and begin collecting his police pension. But he will still work full time for the village in a newly created administrative position.

February 18, 2016

Pioneer Press - Police Chief Bradley Bloom is giving up his badge to take another job with the village, thereby allowing him to continue earning a salary while collecting his pension.

Village officials said they created the temporary position of assistant village manager/director of public safety specifically for Bloom, so younger officers could benefit from his experience.

Bloom, 56, is not ready to retire, he said, but after 34 years as a police officer, his pension will not grow enough to offset his contribution into the pension system, if he continued as chief.

The Village Board on Tuesday unanimously approved a three-year contract that pays Bloom $120,000 a year for the new full-time position. That's less than he currently earns as police chief. But in addition to the salary as director of public safety, Bloom will receive his pension, which will be 75 percent of his $151,576 annual salary as chief. And by Illinois pension laws, Bloom's pension will grow by 3 percent of that amount each year.

In comparison, if he continued to work as police chief, he likely would receive the 2 percent raises village employees have gotten the past few years, but he also would have to pay 10 percent of his salary into the police pension fund.

As public safety director, he no longer will have to pay into the police pension fund. He will contribute to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, as other village employees do. But because his contract with the village is for three years, with two possible one-year extensions, he is not expected to reach the 10 years necessary to collect a pension from the municipal retirement fund."He will never collect two village pensions," said Village President Thomas Cauley, Jr. And the position will end when Bloom's contract does, Cauley said.

Like all retiring village employees, Bloom also will be paid for his unused vacation time, which in his case equals about $26,000, village manager Kathleen Gargano said. The village also allows employees to deposit a portion of the amount of sick time they have accrued and not taken into a post-employment health benefit plan, which can be used only for health insurance costs after they retire. Bloom's balance is about $27,000, Gargano said.

Other police and fire chiefs have retired from the department where they worked most of their careers and been hired in other municipalities, so they could collect both their pension and a salary, and potentially a second pension.

Hinsdale's previous two fire chiefs retired and joined fire departments in Western Springs and Bartlett, Cauley said.


But Bloom does not want to leave Hinsdale.

"This has been a very good job for me," Bloom said. "I like the community. I like my boss. I like the board."
And village officials do not want to lose Bloom, especially at this time.

Including Bloom, six of the eight members of the command staff of the Hinsdale Police Department will be eligible to retire within the next two to four years, which will leave "a vacuum of senior management," Cauley said.

Because the command staff has been in place for years, there has not been the opportunity for younger officers to be promoted to leadership positions.

"It's a unique set of circumstances," Gargano said. "There's a tenure gap. We have a lot of people at the top and a lot of people at the bottom."

Bloom will stay on to help mentor and prepare younger officers for leadership positions.

Cauley said this arrangement will allow the village to find the next police chief from its own department, rather than hiring somebody from outside.

Bloom said he looks forward to that role, which he begins Feb. 22.

The Police Department has worked hard as a team to develop a culture where officers understand and respond to the community, Bloom said. He believes the community is pleased with the performance of the Police Department and how it treats people. But the future turnover in leadership puts that culture at risk, Bloom said.

In his new position, he can help the young supervisors and leaders of tomorrow develop and preserve that culture, Bloom said.

His responsibilities will include administrative duties and overseeing information technology functions. But he will no longer be a police officer, with a uniform, badge and gun.

"I am going to miss that," Bloom said. "I am proud of being a police officer. But I still will be working with the same people."

Hinsdale Deputy Police Chief Kevin Simpson will serve as acting chief effective Feb. 22.

• You can solve the problem by outlawing public sector labor unions and raising the retirement age for public employees to match those set by the Social Security Administration (62 for early retirement and reduced benefits and 67 for full benefits).

• Hanginlow

This is a perfect example of how taxpayers are being ripped off and Illinois is broke. This guy will get a $114k a year pension which will grow 3% compounded every year. That is way way too rich! This is a crime!

Taxpayers should make a citizens arrest on this taxpayer thievery!

• bwillis

In another story Valerie Jarret had a part time job on the CTA board paying 50k, she only put in 11k for her pension. She has already collect 300K and the pension is for the rest of her life. Very sweet deal but this needs to stop.

• R. Allan

Yet another reason not to reside in Illinois. Or even shop there. If you want to contribute to this scam, go right ahead. I'm out of Illinois for over 20 years and never returning.

• Your Worst Nightmare

I agree the pensions are generous and double dipping is bad. However, two points need to be kept in mind. One, these people pay $0 into Social Security and therefore will get $0 from SS. Second, some but not all government workers take less in salary than they would make in the private sector (E.g most professionals such as lawyers, accountants, architects, etc) in return for higher benefits.

• smansman

@Your Worst Nightmare No one in the private sector will ever get anything close to these pensions from Social Security. And we have to work until we are 67 or more to collect that much lower amount. As for government workers taking less than a private sector salary, many government workers lack the qualifications and skills required to succeed in the private sector, and their commensurately lower compensation from the government reflects it. There are also many low skill/menial jobs in... » more

• Brian_Oak Park

@Your Worst Nightmare In addition to the 12.4% that most workers pay into social security, they are also required to save for retirement. To have available $70,000 per year available at retirement one would need to have saved approximately $2.2 million by age 65. That is the glutinous shame of the public pension racket.

• southside gal

@Brian_Oak Park
Workers do not pay 12.4% to social security. That is split with the employer. People(professionals with degrees and licenses)in the private sector typically enjoy matching 401k plans and bonuses. They also tend to earn more "lifetime" earnings, thus are able to enjoy nicer homes, cars and vacations. This is a fact. It is called public "service" for a reason. Folks seem to confuse that with indentured servants.

• headculies55

But us peasants have to wait till 66 years of age to collect Social Security. If you want to retire early and rich, work for the government.

• swburbs

@headculies55 Next time the job of chief of police opens up (or police officer for that matter), apply.

• rodp236

Nice to see that they are all smiling.

• Bubba Mike

The Hinsdale Double Dip or The Political Pay Back. Double dipping should be illegal. I'm sure he would make a find security guard.

• Smokey Smith

Illinois and it's pension systems are bleeding money and broke, and I can't seem to put my finger on the cause.

Under Madigan leadership we'll never see the reforms needed to fix this mess.

• bwillis

@Smokey Smith The pensions cannot be changed. A judge has ruled against it. It is a iron clad deal, thanks to James Thompson

• Insanity must stop

@bwillis Pensions can be changed with a constitutional amendment. Or bankruptcy which is probably more likely to occur. The current plans are insolvent and must be changed one way or another. Its called common sense.

• Illinoisnative

@Smokey Smith They can raise the pension age on new employees. they can make a law to prohibit double dipping.

• bwillis

@Insanity must stop I would love to see either but you know as well as i do that the current politicians will never pass that amendment.

• Harleys, guns, and more guns

They really do need this guy! I mean, Hinsdale is literally a cesspool of crime and filled with nefarious criminals of all types.

• ArmChairDebate

This is the problem with the pension system. People should be able to start collecting their pension whenever they are eligible, whether they are still working at that job or not, but the pension has to be based on actuarial models. Collect earlier, and you get less each month but for a longer period. That may not be enough to live on when no longer working, so you may want to defer receiving the pension until the amount goes up over time. Right now, there is no incentive to keep working after... » more

• gdolje

I only like my double dippers at Dairy Queen. Nice when you have dirt on someone at the village hall and they pay you hush money with tax payer dollars. Nice message to the officers too. You don't know what your doing so we have to keep old iron side here.

• Illinoisnative

Double dippers have to go

• Insanity must stop

One of hundreds of examples in this State where pension promises made are simply too costly to be sustainable. 3% raise per year for life. Early retirement ages. The games teachers get to play with 6% raises each of their last 4 years to boost up the multiplier. The private sector doesn't come within a country mile of providing these benefits. How did government jobs become the most lucrative jobs in the marketplace? By voters supporting the status quo without realizing the consequences.

• Shecky Steen

Read all about the sweet deal the Village of Villa Park made with their former, disgraced Chief of Police that ended up getting our village mocked in worldwide articles about his perversion...by the way, he's STILL collecting his generous pension !

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04-04/news/ct-met-villa-park-race-20130404_1_ex-police-chief-political-drama

• rodp236

So nice he can make ends meet now...............

• Commonsense50

Our government officials working for us!

• mbenny

Why would he be "ready to retire" with that deal ?

• bwillis

He worked hard to get where he is at. Nasty but legal. And i thought the teachers were greedy?

• J. Robert Oppenheimer

Is this an example of how Rauner is destroying the middle class?

• brews77

@J. Robert Oppenheimer

No, this is an example of how people game the system. A local government created a job for this guy out of thin air. Nothing Rauner wants to do would prevent this. Nice try.

• chauntikleer

@brews77: You need to recalibrate your sarcasometer - it's not functioning properly.

• rodp236

@J. Robert Oppenheimer You have to have a certain level of intelligence to participate in that discussion..............

• Illinoisnative

@brews77 Gaming the system allowed by politicians not closing loopholes and changing the laws.

• ggoose

@rodp236 agree, his intelligence level is way too high to be participating or did I miss your sarcasm...

• Smokey Smith

@brews77 This is the textbook example of what he's trying to eliminate.

By your own logic, the "system" is broken allowing this guy to game said system.

He's specifically trying to reform pensions and restrict collectively bargained rights such as double dipping on pensions.

• quotidian redux

The lesson here is that retirement ages for police and other government jobs are way too low.

• eeyore's tail

Hinsdale...more money than brains.