Ty Petersen worked for Illinois’ largest public employee union, which is strongly supporting the tax hike. Because of that work, he now benefits from a controversial pension sweetener provision that allowed him to take a taxpayer-funded retirement despite working for the state for just one year.
Petersen in 2017 began collecting a state pension now worth $27,500 a year, according to Illinois State Employees’ Retirement System records. A
loophole in state law allowed him to work for the state
for a year and buy $42,655 in state pension credits for his years as a union worker.
Less than two years after retiring at age 55, Peterson recouped his entire investment.
