Page 30 Excellence In Education Lincoln Daily News January 2025 Tier 2 – The Second Class Teacher Tier Undo Tier 2 Preface Earlier this school year, my wife, Abigail, and I were asked by the District 27 union, Lincoln Elementary Education Organization (LEEO), to go to a lobby day being held in Springfield. The goal of this lobby day was to get Tier 2 undone. If you are unaware of what Tier 2 is, keep reading past this introduction and all shall be explained. I was aware of Tier 2 at the time, as well as the fact that it is unfair (for teachers, as well as others), but not the specific details. I decided if I was going to this event to represent the union of an entire school district, I should probably know what I am talking about. So I took to Google and began my research. To say that I was surprised would be an understatement. I knew Tier 2 was unfair, but not to the extent that it truly is. I had so many thoughts on the matter that I needed to write them down. What started off as a brief letter to the legislators that I would be talking to quickly spiraled into something over 2,000 words in length. Also, while this is written from the perspective of an educator on the Teachers’ Retirement System, it can also be applied to anyone in the State Universities Retirement System and the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, albeit with some tweaks, so long as they were hired on or after January 1st, 2011. After it was finished, I printed off some copies and brought it with me to the lobby day. On that day, I attempted to sit down with both Representative William Hauter and Senator Sally Turner. I was only successful in meeting with Representative Hauter, but it was a productive conversation. To follow is the document I delivered to Representative Hauter, and attempted to deliver to Senator Turner. Undo Tier 2 ‘Give me a break.’ ‘All work and no play makes Matthew a dull boy.’ ‘Thank God it’s Friday!’ These are all phrases that we as Americans use to convey the need for time away from work and responsibilities. Nestlé took the first phrase and made a nationally recognizable jingle for their candy Kit-Kat. An entire restaurant chain has been made off the latter phrase. Loverboy even made a song about wanting time off, the 1981 hit ‘Working for the Weekend.’ Retirement is the ultimate weekend, the endall and be-all of breaks. We work during our younger years to get the chance to spend our twilight years doing the things we want to do. Access to pension plans is significant in an employee’s plan to retire, as having access to one could make retirement much easier than it would be otherwise. Continued --
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