* From a press release…

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Daley took Governor Pat Quinn to task for failed leadership, offering a three-point plan to break the impasse on pension reform.

“Governor Quinn has failed to lead, maintaining over and over again that it’s the legislature’s job to pass the bill, and his job to merely sign it. That’s not leadership, that’s a cop out,” said Daley, who added “his failure to get a legal opinion from the Attorney General Madigan has made the impasse even worse.”

Daley noted that Quinn’s vacillations have exacerbated the differences between the Senate and House. “Quinn was for his own plan, but never made the case for it. Squeezy the python never squeezed anyone. He was for the Cullerton plan, then he was for the Madigan plan. Then last Monday, almost comically, he said he wanted to pass both plans at the same time. Friday he asked for a conference committee, which is nothing more than passing the buck. No wonder the legislature is conflicted,” said Daley.

Daley maintains that the plan backed by House Speaker Mike Madigan, now known as Senate Bill 1, is the only solution that truly addresses the pension shortfall. Senate Bill 1 is projected to trim $21 billion off the nearly $100 billion unfunded pension liability the state now faces and reduce overall state payments to the pension systems by $187 billion over the next 30 years — about three times the savings of Senate Bill 2404, the plan backed by Senate President John Cullerton and a coalition of labor unions.

Daley said if he were governor right now, he would have driven three important principles to shape the debate and forge a consensus around Senate Bill 1:

Step One - Make a Clear Case That Senate Bill 1 is Constitutional

Daley observed that one of the biggest issues separating the House and Senate is the dispute over the constitutionality of both bills. Senate President John Cullerton’s staff has argued that only Senate Bill 2404 is constitutional. Daley says other lawyers differ, including the law firm of Sidley Austin, in a detailed opinion prepared for the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club.

The opinion explains that if the State has the right to lay off workers or cut salaries in times of budget crisis, then it also has the right to take the much less drastic step of reducing pension benefits earned in the future.

“Senate Bill 2404 was written with good intentions, but it is simply another band-aid that will not solve the problem. There is a solid legal case that it is no more constitutional than Senate Bill 1. The only real difference is that Senate Bill 1 goes three times farther toward solving the problem,” said Daley.

Daley criticized both Governor Quinn and Attorney General Lisa Madigan for failing to make the legal argument that Senate Bill 1 is every bit as constitutional as Senate Bill 2404.

“Governor Quinn failed to make the case that Senate Bill 1 is constitutional. Attorney General Madigan, who has publicly opined on other constitutional issues she may later defend, has refused to say anything other than she would support doing something. That’s not leadership,” said Daley.

“If Attorney General Madigan can’t provide a full legal opinion without a formal request from the Governor or the legislature, they should make that request right away,” added Daley.

Step Two – Veto any pension plan except Senate Bill 1

Daley said the Governor should long ago have made it clear that he would veto any pension plan that did not achieve the same amount of savings as Senate Bill 1. “If the Governor had said from the beginning that Senate Bill 2404 was dead on arrival and actually stuck by his words for a change, Senate Bill 1 would have gotten a lot more than 16 votes,” said Daley.

Were he the governor, Daley would have made the veto threat early and often. “I saw first hand how Presidents Clinton and Obama used the veto threat to move Congress toward the right action. That’s what I would have done here,” said Daley, referring to his service as Secretary of Commerce under President Clinton and Chief Staff to President Obama.

Step Three – Give Senators something to vote FOR.

According to the Civic Federation’s February 25, 2013 budget report, pension contributions could decline by $2.5 billion in FY2018 if the state enacted comprehensive pension reform similar to Senate Bill 1.

Daley suggested that a portion of the $2.5 billion in reduced pension contributions – perhaps as much as 51% — could be earmarked for public education as a related piece of legislation connected to the passage of Senate Bill 1.

“The most important job the state does is finance the education of our children. It is the key to economic growth and it is key to making sure every child has a shot at a brighter future,” said Daley, who added, “Senate Bill 1 is a very tough vote. To me, you have to give these senators something to be for, and dedicating over $1 billion in freed revenue to educate our kids is something both Democrats and Republicans can get behind.”

I boldened the Lisa Madigan stuff. The rest is in the original.

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