Insurance for Judges

Guess how much they pay for health insurance?

• Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle fired another shot at Cook County’s Chief Judge Timothy Evans Monday, proposing to cut off the nearly-free health insurance the county offers to judges.
  
  Thanks to an obscure state law, circuit court judges are classified as county employees, because they get $500 a year from the county. So they are currently eligible for county health insurance for a percentage of their salary that works out to less than $1 a month.
  
  The actual cost to the county ranges from $440 to $1,700 a month, Preckwinkle’s office said.

Gee, and our retirees are about to be forced into ObamaCare that might leave many bankrupt and eating cat food. But Preckwinkle has a plan!

• Under the proposal, employees considered part-timers would no longer pay a percentage of their salary, but would have to pay the actual cost of the insurance or get it somewhere else, such as the new health insurance marketplace created under the Affordable Care Act.
  
  About 30 crossing guards, as well as commissioners of the Chicago Board of Elections, would also get the same deal, but most of the 400 people affected would be judges, the county said.

Because at salaries ranging from $174,000 to $183,000 per year, you'd think that they could spend a little more on their own care.