28 Comments - walkinfool - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 3:12 pm: Get ready to eat your turkey. It’s time. - RNUG - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 3:15 pm: The vote shave been counted and they’re stoking up the firebox … - Dirty Red - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 3:16 pm: Not official until @SpeakerMadigan Tweets it. - Anonymous - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 3:33 pm: I guess we’ll be able to eat THIS Thanksgiving at least. - unclesam - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 3:39 pm: So, by legislative math, everyone should expect to be in Springfield for three days — Monday, Dec. 2 (House committees), Tuesday, December 3 (House session; maybe Senate session and committees as well), and Wednesday, December 4 (Senate session to clean up work from House). - dave - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 3:41 pm: Did IEA Da Speaker tweet to confirm this yet? - Sir Reel - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 3:42 pm: Should have coordinated the date with the date Medicare eligible retirees have to pick their Medicare Advantage insurance. That would be a double whammy. - huh - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 3:59 pm: @ unclesam: “Senate session to clean up work from House” HUH? Isn’t it usually the other way around? - Earl Shumaker - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 4:05 pm: It appears that we have both Democratic and Republican leaders who are on the verge of violating the US and Illinois Constitutions and the Rule of Law. Apparently, the main component of these leader’s so-called pension reform legislation is to slash state of Illinois retiree’s legally owed 3% compounded cost-of-living adjustments(COLAs),and replace it with a 1/2 %of CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation formula. Doing this would diminish a retiree’s pension, which would be in violation of the Illinois Constitution. Also, part of this so-called pension reform legislation would exclude judges from any cuts in their COLAs. If this happens, this will be in violation of the “equal protection under the law” of the 14th amendment of the US Constitution. Voters need to ask any representative and senator who goes along with these leader’s proposal the following questions: (1) If our elected officials have no problem trashing our Constitutions and Rule of Law by diminishing legally protected pensions and COLA, what will be sacrificed next on their chopping block? (2) And why are our elected leaders and legislators taking their oaths to defend the US and Illinois Constitutions so lightly - kimocat - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 4:17 pm: I hope these legislators have some clue of what the reaction might be for this vote. The public will forget. Public employees and retirees will not. Ever. - Norseman - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 4:37 pm: Not a surprise. It’s a quick conference committee vote. - Tim Snopes - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 4:56 pm: Any official word on a Senate schedule? - Tom - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 4:59 pm: == Tim Snopes == That’s the key question…what’s the Senate up to? Cullerton calling the shots on whether or not the this “compromise” is going anywhere. - Artis Gilmore - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 5:18 pm: Stakes is High - DuPage Dave - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 5:38 pm: Shumaker- Well stated. Couldn’t agree more. - Just The Way It Is One - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 5:45 pm: Well if FInally looks like the writing’s on the wall in December, as at least some of us predicted a while back…just wonder why Sen. Cullerton hasn’t indicated anything formal yet, let alone what Pat Quinn will do if they do end-up sending him something he thinks–after all this time on the Pension Mess–is inadequate…?! - Just The Way It Is One - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 5:46 pm: That was meant to read above “…it FInally…”! - Where will it end - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 6:25 pm: Does anyone have any of the details of the bill? - Saluki dog - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 6:30 pm: Pension vote will not be taken. Much ado about nothing. - RNUG - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 6:42 pm: Where will it end @ 6:25 pm: Rich may have more details for his subscribers, but I’m not one of them. Right now I don’t know any more than what has been publically posted here. We probably won’t see the actual language until the morning of the vote. - Brookport Brandon - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 8:34 pm: This is John Cullerton’s moment of truth. If he resists a deal, he obstructs progress and proves Illinois Democrats cannot govern. - Catrike - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 8:56 pm: “It appears that we have both Democratic and Republican leaders who are on the verge of violating the US and Illinois Constitutions and the Rule of Law. ” Hyperbole much? - E town - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 9:19 pm: Dont get ahead of yourself Shumaker, Saluki Dog more on the mark - Arthur Andersen - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 10:02 pm: Constitution in the ashcan? Still too early for AA to say. - Dude Abides - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 10:10 pm: Being that Madigan is really pushing this and the projected savings is about $150 billion I suspect that the finished product will be very similar to the original Madigan plan which has already been voted on twice by the Senate, at least in the respect that the solution will be put upon the backs of public workers and retirees. The big question is if Cullerton approves of the plan and has the votes lined up. If so that just means that the pension issue will not be resolved any time in the near future as the Supreme Court will ultimately decide the legality of the bill and that will take some time. It is hard to believe that in a matter of 3 days both chambers will ram through a vote on such a complex issue. Then again Illinois has operated this way for years, the leaders get together and hash out something and pressure their members to toe the line. - Oneman - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 10:39 pm: Serious question for the ‘It’s not going to be constitutional’ folks… Do you think Madigan knows this and is fully aware that it is going to fail and is doing this to shut people up or do you think he sees a way around it? - Norseman - Monday, Nov 25, 13 @ 11:53 pm: === Do you think Madigan knows this and is fully aware that it is going to fail and is doing this to shut people up or do you think he sees a way around it? === OneMan, I believe he knows there is a likelihood that it will fail, but is hoping that the justices will agree to nullify the protection because of the possible political ramifications. [Note that he and Cullerton admitted that the legislative furloughs violated the constitutional guarantee against salary changes. They knew no legislator would challenge the furloughs because of political concerns.] As you know, the pension underfunding is not the only budgetary problem facing the state. Making the temporary tax increase permanent has to be done and it is going to be an important agenda item for the Democrats. This action will not be popular with the public. At a minimum, to protect their majorities Madigan and Cullerton need to appear that they are making (trying to make) the historically unpopular state workers “share the pain” along with the taxpayers. I suspect that Madigan’s irritation with AFSCME and the teacher unions over the Tier 2 pension changes and other issues has hardened his desire to pursue this course of action. If the Supreme Court rules as it should, then Madigan, Cullerton and Quinn will use the ruling as political cover. If the majority of the justices votes to nullify the protection, he gets a plus. - PublicServant - Tuesday, Nov 26, 13 @ 6:47 am: I’ve already called both my senate and house reps. My senator called me back personally. I emphasized my point of view. He agreed with me. I explained that as a retiree, nothing in the currently rumored bill provides me with any consideration, and that a one percent reduction in a mere pittance and does not represent adequate compensation for the massive diminishment to current tier 1 state employee pensions. I explained that I supported his previous election, and explained that now that I’m retired, I’ve got plenty of time on my hands to actively work for him, and to recruit other boots on the ground for him in his next primary, and I implied that those same boots won’t be there for him if he votes for the upcoming SB1 clone. He told me he’s against anything close to SB1. I will hold him to that. Oh, and senator, thank you for personally returning my call, and listening. Call your reps. Tell them to uphold both the state and federal constitutions, and to vote no on this SB1 clone, and blatant theft of earned pensions. Boots, time and effort can defeat millions of dollars in political contributions. The public does not understand the issue. We can explain it to them, and override the lies of the 1%’ers who have dominated the airwaves until now. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.