ADAMS COUNTY CIRCUIT CLERK: JOURNALISM HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

Here's the situation.  Donahue is already collecting two pensions and free medical care from the state.  Not a bad thing.  Not a good thing.  Just a thing.  She's gotten a bit tender of late on the whole pension thing.  Geschwander has straight-up painted Donahue as a double-dipper.

In response to this, Donahue says she won't accept the pension and health insurance from the taxpayers of our county.  OK, Peachy.  She doesn't need the health insurance.  The pension is more interesting.  Adams county is a member of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.  Contractually, they must withdraw pension from employees' paychecks and make matching payments.  So far, that's where this whole psychodrama comes to a screeching halt.

So, what if you were a journalist assigned to cover this race?  Wouldn't you ask Donahue if she had checked with IMRF to see if it were even possible to decline the pension?  Wouldn't you call IMRF and ask what the rules were about elected officials declining to participate in a pension fund?  Of course you would.  It's just too easy. 

Maybe the office isn't viewed by local newsies as important enough.  Maybe since the race in 2002, nobody believes anything Donahue says about herself or her financing so fact checking isn't necessary.  Maybe it was just more interesting to write about other stuff rather than drill down into campaign flak.

But if an earnest journalist would have done this, we'd have known whether there was any basis at all to support Donahue.  Instead, we'll just have to guess at it.