Illinois changed its Constitution to guarantee pensions for state employees. State employees vote for politicians who maintain that guarantee -- the same politicians who did not fund their pensions.

Meanwhile, we in the public sector must save for our pensions, funds that were depleted twice due to crashes in financial markets. State employees: No problem, their pensions are guaranteed.

So politicians supported by votes of state employees want to raise our taxes to pay for pensions of state employees. The money coming from us is coming out of our "pensions," our savings.

While many state employees do their jobs dutifully, I deal with many who could not care less about us. They are primarily interested in doing the bid of political bosses and waiting to get their pensions. Why do state employees believe their pensions are sacred and ours are not?

If it took changes in the Constitution to guarantee pensions that are breaking the state, then there can be changes in the Constitution to save the state treasury, starting with any state pension that is greater that the median income of the public sector.

Robert L. Johnson

Collinsville