PEORIA, IL -- Tomorrow will see a last ditch rally day to stop the Illinois General Assembly from decimating the pensions of state workers.
The Illinois House is scheduled to vote on Tuesday, conveniently the day after the deadline for filing to run for office in 2014. There's been lots of publicity about the pension issues, but most of it swallows whole the propaganda of the right wing and CEO groups, who want pensioner money for themselves.
If the Democratic leadership that has abandoned its base to support this pension theft dreams of staying in power after the next election, they better ditch this plan, and quick!
There are two rallies scheduled for Monday, Dec. 2 in Peoria.
Meet at 3 p.m. at the office of Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, on War Memorial Drive opposite Peoria Stadium; and 4 p.m. at the office of Rep. Darin LaHood, at ICC North on North University.
Here is the analysis from the Illinois Federation of Teachers:
Leaders’ Extreme Pension Plan – Oppose Unfair, Unconstitutional Pension Cuts
Note: This fact sheet is subject to change on Monday, December 2, once bill language is released.
Pensions for teachers, police, child protective workers, nurses, and other public employees in state-funded pension plans are modest and fair, allowing dignity and security in their retirement years.
Public employees did not create the current pension funding crisis, but they are willing to do their part to help solve it. The We Are One Illinois union coalition worked collaboratively to develop real pension system funding solutions that are fair and constitutional—and significantly reduce the pension debt over time.
The coalition supports a true, negotiated compromise bill—Senate Bill 2404. SB 2404, unchanged, deserves a full House vote. In contrast, the leaders’ extreme pension plan is the same failed, illegal, and unfair approach as SB 1, slashing pensions of current employees and retirees—and jeopardizing hard-won retirement security.
The Leaders’ Plan Is No Compromise at All – It’s a Repackaged SB 1
SB 1 featured almost the exact same COLA formula, COLA holidays, retirement age increases, and pensionable salary cap. Based on reports, the leaders’ plan is virtually the same bill as SB 1. It contains all of these cuts, plus expanded reliance on inefficient 401(k)’s that undermine defined-benefit plans.
The Leaders’ Plan Is Unconstitutional and Illegally Cuts Benefits
The leaders’ plan illegally cuts benefits, even though the Illinois Constitution specifically states that pension benefits are a contractual right that cannot be diminished or impaired. A legal challenge will lead to years of budget uncertainty, doing little to address credit rating agencies’ concerns. Further, if litigation overturns this plan, Illinois will have kicked the can down the road and further jeopardized its fiscal situation and the solvency of its pension systems. It may even owe back-payments to the pension systems.
The Leaders’ Plan Cuts Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) Essentially as Deeply as SB 1
The leaders’ plan makes it impossible for retirees to keep up with the rising cost-of-living in retirement. It unconstitutionally slashes COLAs by using the destructive SB 1 formula and imposing COLA holidays of up to five years. Combined, these two COLA cuts erode the value of a person’s pension by nearly one-third after 20 years in retirement—and deprive retirees of thousands of dollars in income just in the next five years. This is an extremely deep COLA cut – just as bad as SB 1.
Consider the following examples based on 30 years of service:
Over the next five years, a retired teacher who has a pension benefit of $60,000 would lose over $14,000; a nurse who retired from state service with a pension of $40,000 would lose over $7,500. A teacher, age 49, who retires with a $60,000 pension will lose nearly $20,000 in the first five years of retirement; a state nurse, age 49, who retires with a pension of $40,000 would lose over 12,000.
The Leaders’ Plan Hikes Retirement Ages
The leaders propose hiking retirement ages by up to five years. There’s no consideration for employees with physically-demanding or high-risk professions, such as police, first responders, corrections officers, nurses, and others.
Retirement age increases effectively produce a benefit loss of 6% for each year increased. For example, younger workers lose 30% of their pension value without accounting for other cuts.
The Leaders’ Plan Would Be Exempt from Collective Bargaining, Denying Rights to Workers
The Leaders’ Pensionable Salary Cap May Not Be Cost-Effective and Devalues Service
The leaders’ plan caps pensionable salary, creating a disincentive for hiring and recruiting in critical public professions, particularly those that require advanced degrees, which is often a more cost effective practice than contracting out for expensive, specialized services. Lastly, the cap ignores the mandatory overtime required of many employees, especially those in physically-demanding, high-risk jobs. - 30 -
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