–Tonight’s City of Chicago edition of Public Affairs airs at 9:03 pm on Cable Ch 21 (CAN TV). It features Part 1 of our interview with GOP GOV candidate and former downstate senator Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo).

Do career Illinois K-12 teachers receive the most generous pension benefits among their peers? Does the average pension benefit for Illinois state retirees = 71K? Is that what Wirepoints contends? Are they right? Does Candidate Schimpf disagree with Wirepoints? If he does, does he have the data to support that argument?

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You can also watch the Schimpf show 24/7 by clicking here.

Watch this evening’s  “Public Affairs,” in 25 Chicago Metro N and NW suburbs  with show host Berkowitz interviewing GOP GOV candidate and former Senator Paul Schimpf at 8:30 pm on:

—Comcast Cable Ch. 19 in Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, parts of Inverness, Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Niles, Northfield, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette and on

—Comcast Cable Ch. 35 in  Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Glenview, Golf, Des Plaines, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling.

For Schimpf to keep his promise not to cut IL state employee and teacher pensions, must he cut current and future education, healthcare or human services spending for decades? Or, some combination, thereto?

You can also watch the Schimpf show 24/7 by clicking here.

Issues & topics for tonight’s show w/Lt. Col. Paul Schimpf (USMC, Ret.)

• Is there $300 Billion in IL unfunded retirement debt? Does Schimpf have a viable plan for IL to come up with that much money over the next 30 years to pay the pensioners?
• Does IL outspend its neighbors and the national average in K-12 Education? Is that level of spending appropriate?
• Is 26% of FY22 budget devoted to Education, 22% to Pensions, 17% to Healthcare, 17% to Human Services and 18% to Other? For Schimpf to keep his promise not to cut IL state employee and teacher pensions, must he cut current and future education, healthcare or human services spending for decades? Or, some combination, thereto? Isn’t that a budget reality?
• Do career Illinois K-12 teachers receive the most generous benefits among their peers? Does the average annual pension benefit for Illinois state retirees = 71K? Is that what Wirepoints contends? Are they right? Does Candidate Schimpf disagree with Wirepoints? Does he have the data to support that argument?

• If Wirepoints is right about the above, should IL Amend the IL Constitution to permit the IL legislature and the Governor to cut IL state employee and teacher pension benefits? If yes, can and should IL then proceed to cut government employee and teacher pension benefits?
• Are school choice-school vouchers an idea whose time has come? Schimpf says we should “look at that.” Is that sufficient for Republican Primary voters who support school choice to support Schimpf for Governor in IL in 2022?
• Would Schimpf as Gov have cut $2 Billion from each IL budget in last 4 year yrs & diverted those funds to State pensions? Would that policy fix IL’s pension mess if IL continued it for 30 yrs? How would Schimpf get a commitment from future Governors and IL legislatures to do that?
• Is Speaker Welch promoting an Income Tax Increase? Will his proposal Impact the Middle Class? The top 3% ? or everybody? Can Speaker Welch and Dems help Gov Pritzker win re-election to Governor in 2022 by promising middle class voters a big income tax increase?