- Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday announced a massive pension overhaul bill that he said would save billions of dollars while incorporating reform ideas from various leaders.
The lengthy bill — all 500 pages of it — would cut retirement benefits for police officers, firefighters and public teachers. It would also give local governments a way to file for bankruptcy “as a last resort” after a review or the declaration of a fiscal emergency.
And it includes suggestions from Senate President John Cullerton about cost-of-living increases as well as suggestions from Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, Rauner said.
“What we tried to do is incorporate the ideas of all the various leaders to create an opportunity for significant cost-savings in the pension systems throughout the state of Illinois,” Rauner said.
But while Rauner’s bill may include some ideas from other leaders, the proposal was a far cry from a negotiated deal and appears to have been put together with little or no input from organized labor.
So if we understand this, Rauner cobbled together a "Frankenstein" bill culled from a number of democrat politicians in order to give himself some sort of political cover and once again, it flies in the face of the Illinois Supreme Court ruling regarding diminish-ment of existing benefits.
At this point, a tax hike is a foregone conclusion - it's just a matter of who's going to wear the collar for it. Increased contributions are likely, too, but they should be increased most heavily on those who haven't contributed any or as much as others have in the past (the police have contributed 9% or more every single check, firefighters, too, but certain unions haven't contributed anywhere near that total).
What ought to be concentrated on is stopping Illinois from bleeding jobs. If that means unpopular work rules changes and the alternative is bankruptcy, perhaps the unpopular work rules ought to be given a chance...you know, to avoid a total haircut.
At this point, a tax hike is a foregone conclusion - it's just a matter of who's going to wear the collar for it. Increased contributions are likely, too, but they should be increased most heavily on those who haven't contributed any or as much as others have in the past (the police have contributed 9% or more every single check, firefighters, too, but certain unions haven't contributed anywhere near that total).
What ought to be concentrated on is stopping Illinois from bleeding jobs. If that means unpopular work rules changes and the alternative is bankruptcy, perhaps the unpopular work rules ought to be given a chance...you know, to avoid a total haircut.
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