(Springfield, IL) — April 19, 2010. Illinois Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) backed changes to the Illinois employee pension system that will yield savings of $220 billion during next 30 years, but wants to put current employee benefits on the chopping block if possible.
“I know there’s differing opinions as to whether or not we can impact current employees,” Radogno said. “I think we owe it to the state of Illinois to fully flesh out that argument.”
Former Illinois Appellate Court Justice Gino DiVito, however, says changes to current Illinois state employee benefits would be unconstitutional, reports the Springfield State Journal-Register‘s Doug Finke:
According to his research, DiVito says he “reached the undeniable conclusion that the pension benefits of present employees, those who belong in a pension plan, cannot be diminished or impaired. All the General Assembly and governor could do is affect the pension benefits of future employees.”
Illinois unions reacted in fury to the legislative pension reform juggernaut engineered by House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) and signed into law by Governor Pat Quinn.
Madigan, Cullerton and Quinn delivered badly needed reforms to future employees benefits.
However, if Radogno wants to stick her hand in the current employee pension honey-pot, Winnie the Pooh-like, Madigan and Cullerton will be only too amused to watch the spectacle.
Gov. Pat Quinn
Thank god for reason in the senate. I think you should impact current employees. Screw the Ill Constitution it does not mean anything anyway. Lest start with judges who retire at 100% + of their salary. Of course a few years down the line they get recalled because of the “Overload” of work. Ever been to a court house on a summer Friday? You could shoot a cannon ball down the hall and not hit anyone, especially a judge. After the recall they get a boost to the current level of retirement. For the math challenged, say you retire at 80 grand, work a few months now and retire at 120- grand.
Posted by Jim Sather | April 19, 2010, 7:24 PMThen take the legislators (please) tell them to pick a pension,. They want it all, private employment, county board, aldermanic and state. Screw them.
They just do not get it, that is why the Tea Party exists. Take your car keys from your kid, take the state car from the blood suckers and be done with them. The right may bitch about supporting people who do not work, but I would rather give a helping hand to those down on their luck that a payout to those who game the system. UP AGAINST THE WALL, LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN
Why is it that the politicians all want to put the burden on the retirees who for the most part retired because they were of the age where they could no longer fit into the “politics as usual” Chicago mold? I relaize that has been going on for many years but during this administration it seems to have become more openly in-you-face. If the system would look for ways to spend in a fiscally responsible way we would have the problems we have. Don’t put the burden on the retirees – - put it on those we have elected to do the jobs to which they ahve been elected.
Posted by R. A. Arnold-James | May 28, 2010, 2:03 PM