For politicians who lost their seats in the November elections, losing might have been better than winning.

“Retiring” from public government jobs means annual pensions—and hefty ones at that. For example, when former Gov. James Thompson retires in May, he’ll start collecting $79,276 a year in pension.

But Thomspon is outdone by Cecil Partee, who gets $81,556 annually from state, county and city government funds.

According to information gathered by the Chicago Sun-Times, it’s not too rough to qualify for government pensions. One need only give four years to public service and can start cashing in at age 62. For those in the private sector, most need to work at least another year and wait until they’re 65.

The politicians raking in the tax money while not working are quick to point out that the years they spent in government could have been more profitable in the private sector.

Unfortunately, no one made them go into politics. They all easily could have worked in business. They chose that life

What’s more, a man like Thompson who entered politics at a young age and left it at a relatively young age stands to make an impressive six figures combining his pension (when he starts to get it) and his business salary.

If Gov. Jim Edgar is still looking for places to trim the ailing state budget, maybe this is one place to start.