* Sun-Times…
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday announced his administration was making public a massive pension reform bill that encompasses issues involving the City of Chicago and Cook County as well as Downstate.
The reform proposal, he said, could save the City of Chicago billions of dollars every year.
Rauner said the more than 500-page pension reform bill includes changes to Chicago’s fire and police pension plans as well as to the Chicago Teachers pension. He said it also included suggestions from Senate President John Cullerton about cost of living increases as well as suggestions from Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle.
Rauner said he’s worked with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Cullerton and Preckwinkle to come up with the legislative language. He said Preckwinkle told him that she wouldn’t need to raise taxes in Cook County if Springfield steps up on pension reform. […]
“The Senate President has spent time with the Governor discussing a constitutional model for comprehensive pension reform,” said Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon. “The governor’s recognition of the Cullerton model is encouraging, but we will have to review the details of the Governor’s new proposal.”
OK, wait. He plopped down a 500-page bill in front of reporters before discussing the details with the Senate President or his top staff?
That’s not how you win passage of legislation, it’s how you win the daily news cycle.
There are similarities between governing and campaigning, but there are also big differences.
The next general election is over a year away. Less worrying about the next campaign, please, and lots more governing instead.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Riopell has a few deets…
Rauner’s proposal incorporates the benefit-cutting plan offered by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, which she says could help save the county enough money to avoid a sales tax hike.
Rauner’s newest plan would also nod toward suburban mayors, who have called for pension changes for years to help reduce retirement costs for police officers and firefighters. Under Rauner’s plan, they would have to choose between two options: Smaller yearly pension increases in retirement or basing their eventual pension payout on today’s salary rather than on future raises.
Teachers would be offered the same deal under Rauner’s plan. In the past, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton has argued it would be constitutional to change employees’ pension benefits if they were offered something in return.
Union leaders aren’t likely to agree with the latest proposal.
The courts might not agree with it either.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Click here to read a summary.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Reuters…
The bill would also give Illinois’ local governments a route to Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy following an evaluation by a third party or the declaration of a fiscal emergency.
Crain’s…
Says mayoral spokeswoman Kelley Quinn in a statement: “While we are encouraged that the governor has incorporated elements of both the city and Chicago Public Schools agenda, some of these items have already been adopted by the General Assembly, including pensions for both police and fire.”
Translation: Kindly don’t hold our police/fire pension bill hostage to this other stuff governor. Kindly sign the bill now on your desk.
Sun-Times…
Chicago taxpayers would still be on the hook for $619 million in payments to the two funds next year — more than double the current payment. But that’s still $219 million less than the city would have been forced to pay and an $843 million break over the next five years.
Rauner’s offer also includes the elusive, city-owned Chicago casino with all of the revenues devoted exclusively to shoring up police and fire pensions. That could minimize the need for a massive, post-election property tax increase in Chicago.
One week after Emanuel used a toxic mix of borrowing and budget cuts to make a $634 million payment to the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund, Rauner is offering a partial solution to the $9.5 billion teacher pension crisis.
He’s offering to pick up the “normal cost” of teacher pensions and help CPS with the hefty price tag for “defraying health insurance contributions,” but only for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.
The deal is contingent on Chicago teachers accepting the equivalent of a 7 percent pay cut by absorbing the “pension pick-up” that CPS agreed to make years ago in lieu of a pay raise. Teachers currently contribute just 2 percent to their own pensions.
- Commonsense in Illinois - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:22 pm:
Oh, pish-posh, Rich. The Governor produced a 500-page bill. What could possibly go wrong?
- How Ironic - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:23 pm:
I don’t think Rauner is ‘winnin’ the cycle today after the “work is too hard’ gaff during his press conference.
- Just Me - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:29 pm:
Yea! The right way to govern is to plop down a 500-page bill on the desks of legislators five minutes before they vote on it.
Maybe Rauner doesn’t want to risk telling the President a secret and have him tell the press all about it.
- Michael Westen - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:30 pm:
Looks more and more like the Blago style of governing every day.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:32 pm:
He’s already bought the news cycle, this is starting to look more like doing anything possible to avoid hard work.
Kind of like the guy in the office that walks around all day telling everyone how challenging his work is. Roll up your sleeves and get to it already.
- OneMan - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:33 pm:
Did she say they haven’t seen it or did he release it before they finished reviewing it?
- Anon - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:35 pm:
The ILSC ruling calling it unconstitutional will only be about 10 pages long.
- Sir Reel - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:35 pm:
At 500 pages, the bill must list every public employee due a pension and all pensioners.
- Norseman - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:35 pm:
I thought it was amusing when Rauner said he changed is proposals in response to feedback from other folks. Bottom line - poison pills are still there.
- Earl Shumaker - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:37 pm:
Apparently this governor is using House Speaker Madigan as his mentor when it comes to the legislative process It is my understanding that SB1(the unconstitutional Pension Reform Bill) was rammed through the legislature by the Speaker without any substantive debate and without legislators really understanding the impact of the legislation if passed. And now this governor it appears is doing the same thing with his proposed pension legislation
I would think that any credible democratic process would involve all parties that would be impacted by any legislation It is time for this governor and our legislators to stop playing political games and start governing. This means being transparent when it comes to any proposed legislation and/or regulations and binging all parties to the table who would be impacted by any proposed legislation and/or regulations
- Here We Go Again - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:38 pm:
Ok…..so if the framework of the “new” pension reform law is what we saw last week or the week before, then I’m pretty sure it is very threatening and coercive in nature which shouldn’t really fly in court when it comes to contract law…..RNUG please correct me if I am wrong…..
Also, what’s the over/under on how many poison pills and right to work attempts are in that bill?
- Anon - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:39 pm:
Because the Speaker usually gives the other side everything well in advance so they know what’s going on. Whatever. Love how people hate seeing Rauner do to Madigan what Madigan has been doing to everyone else for decades.
- pundent - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:39 pm:
Last week Preckwinkle and her lieutenants were making the rounds saying they haven’t heard a peep from Rauner about pension reform. Today we have a 500 page bill. Maybe something has changed or maybe someone is lying.
- A CapFax Reader - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:40 pm:
And the Bill number is……?
- Tournaround Agenda - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:40 pm:
Is this yet another instance where Gov. Rauner has been working with or talking with someone, only for us to later find the other party oblivious?
- Frank - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:40 pm:
Earl, there have been plenty of hurried, shove-it-down-there-throats bills introduced by the Speaker over the years. SB1 was definitely not one of them.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:41 pm:
===what Madigan has been doing to everyone else for decades. ===
It’s a fair point. But MJM doesn’t usually give it to the media before anyone else. That’s my point here.
And if he’s working with someone on a bill, they’ll usually get a heads up at least.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:43 pm:
=== Bottom line - poison pills are still there.===
Ball game.
It’s a repackaging, rehashing, to own the news cycle of “doin’ somethin’ for Illinois” but in reality, it’s inserting the poison pills and winning the news cycle, with nothing changing, of course.
… oh, and Blame Madigan. Sorry.
- Michelle Flaherty - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:43 pm:
Turns out it was Tom Cullerton’s pension reform plan.
- Tommydanger - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:43 pm:
Rich, are we getting close to voting on report cards again for how the governor is doing?
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:45 pm:
==Love how people hate seeing Rauner do to Madigan what Madigan has been doing to everyone else for decades.==
I don’t presume to speak for any voter but myself, but it seems to me that anyone who thought the Governor of Illinois should act more like Mike Madigan probably didn’t vote for Bruce Rauner.
- Team Sleep - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:48 pm:
Are we sure it wasn’t just an unwrapped ream of Office Max copy paper?!
- Precinct Captain - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:48 pm:
==- Anon - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:39 pm:==
So there’s no hammer and no shake, just the same crass politics with a new, Carhartt-covered face? That’s not what your boy said when he ran for governor for 18 months.
- Secret Square - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:50 pm:
Notice that none of the stories announcing this huge sweeping pension plan say anything about what’s actually in the plan….I assume because no one has had time to read it yet.
- Mouthy - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:50 pm:
So who’s seen the 500 page mystery bill besides the Governor?
- Earl Shumaker - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:52 pm:
Frank, thanks for your comment. Apparently you know more about the history of legislation in Springfield than I –but for some reason I thought the final bill was pushed through in one day. But regardless it does seem that both Madigan and the Governor are cut from the same cloth when it comes to transparency and involving all parties in the legislative process
- A guy - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:55 pm:
===OK, wait. He plopped down a 500-page bill in front of reporters before discussing the details with the Senate President or his top staff?====
I read what you reported and presumably what you read, but I’m not sure that the SP or top staff hasn’t necessarily seen this in greater detail.
I don’t know. I’ve become a bit jaded. The reception of this seems to indicate just the right level of chilliness, or lukewarmness necessary to split the uprights here. Hmmm.
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:56 pm:
===but I’m not sure that the SP or top staff hasn’t necessarily seen this in greater detail. ===
lol
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:59 pm:
===The reception of this seems to indicate just the right level of chilliness, or lukewarmness necessary to split the uprights here. Hmmm.===
Guess that makes this an “Up” day…
- anon - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:02 pm:
Why bother reading it or debating contents when evryone already knows full well that it is unconstitutional and only flopped up to stave off the inevitable for 2 years? A pension holiday that they can blame on the courts, not themselves.
- Jocko - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:04 pm:
==And the Bill number is……?==
No word yet on the number, but the bill will be named “Hail Mary!”
- A Jack - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:06 pm:
Is this the same pension plan where he steals our vacation and then sells it back if we go to tier 2? When that comes out, his honeymoon with the union over meeting payroll will come to a screeching halt.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:08 pm:
I haven’t seen it but if this latest proposal is based on the initial Cullerton SB-1, it won’t be legal either.
Eric Madiar, would you PLEASE call your former boss and explain it won’t fly after the recent IL SC decision?
- horse w/ no name - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:11 pm:
The Madigan obsession is really getting out of hand. Rich points out that it’s generally not good for a governor to offer an idea to the press before he talks to leaders and the blustering response is “Yeah, but MADIGAN!” - And then there is a press conference it self. “Look at all these Democrats I took ideas from. Only one is missing. Guess who it is? Do you know?”.
- Skeptic - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:12 pm:
“Are we sure it wasn’t just an unwrapped ream of Office Max copy paper?!” Given how things have been running, I’d think it would be Dunder-Mifflin paper.
- Cassandra - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:29 pm:
I fear anon 2:02 may be right. We could be in for another round of pretending-a la Pat Quinn and others- that we can cut pensions for current and retired employees by cutting cost of living increases or whatever while the matter wends its way through the courts again. This will allow our feckless politicians of both parties to spend a lot of pretend taxpayer money they really don’t have.
Plus ca change, but really, this could be ridiculous.
- Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:30 pm:
The Sun-Times just put up a two-page summary of the bill. Looking at it now.
- tominchicago - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:31 pm:
I don’t see how that gets around the S. Ct. decision. The bottom line in this case is that pension benefits vest at hiring and you cannot diminish those benefits. If a pension now provides a 3% compounded cola and a pension that is based on my salary at retirement, you cannot force me to choose between either of those two things. The S. Ct. said that I get both of them. Presumably, you could offer me something that I am not now entitled to, such as enhanced healthcare benefits, in exchange forgoing one of those two things but you can’t force me to forgo what I am now entitled to to preserve something else that I am now entitled to.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:36 pm:
The only way a court would agree to that is if it were 100% voluntary … and the hook of basing the pension on current salary instead of final average compensation is a clear case of coercion. There have been previous IL SC rulings that adversely changing the salary base used for calculating the pensions is a diminishment. Seems to just be another shot at trying Rauner’s opinion that only already earned to date benefits are protected; the IL SC has already that shot down.
——–
On a related issue, I saw where the Springfield City Council is trying to claw back their allowing people close to retirement to goose their pensions by taking their vacation time payout before retiring, so it increases their “salary” and it costs the city extra IMRF contributions. While I understand where they are coming from, it is something the city council previously granted and is, in my viewpoint, an allowed / protected behavior under the State pension clause. If they do pass a claw back ordinance, it will most likely be overturned if a city employee sues over it.
- Anon2U - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:39 pm:
Madigan doesn’t have the votes to raise taxes, thank you Jack Franks. Madigan has a long history of unbalanced budgets. Rauner may own FY16 shutdown to some (h/t to OW) but the collar of years of failure is hanging around Madigan’s neck. Get outside of Springfield and the man is despised. Rauner knows it and will continue to pile it on. Madigan cannot win the long game anymore. He can’t get far enough away from his own record no matter how he tries. Rauner won’t let him. Rauner may own FY16 but Madigan owns FY71 thru FY15. That’s what you get for being the longest serving Speaker in Illinois history. He owns our states horrible condition.
- Juvenal - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:39 pm:
=== The courts might not agree with it either. ===
RNUG is correct. “consideration” won’t fly unless one of the options is to keep the plan you have.
The MAJOR ISSUE @StatehouseChick and others fiscal conservatives should have with Rauner 2.1 is that Rauner and others want to turn around and bank these suspect savings and spend that money on other things, digging governments across the state into even deeper debt.
The financial impact will be catclysmic.
- historic66 - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:42 pm:
The summary Rich linked says “All future salary increases are not included in pension benefit calculations”
So if say I am a teacher in my 6th year of service does this mean that my pension will be based off my current salary?
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:48 pm:
===Get outside of Springfield and the man is despised===
And that gets a bill passed at the Statehouse how?
Again, enough with the campaign talk. The campaign is over.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:50 pm:
Just read the summary Rich posted a link to. Based just on the summary, because the devil is going to be in the details, here are my thoughts:
SERS - “After removing certain subjects from collective bargaining” - there’s that ‘poison pill’
SERS - “Create several optional packages to incentivize different groups of employees to transition into Tier 2 pension formula prospectively” - (a) might be barely legal but the give back of some of the benefits removed above that line sure makes it look like a coercive choice, (b) why would anyone who can do the math give up their ‘Tier 1′ pension benefits for either a one-time bonus or a slight one-time salary increase?
TRS, SURS, GARS, CTPF, and Downstate Police and Fire Tier 1 Cook County, other Cook County pension plans - clearly unconstitutional because it doesn’t seem to offer a “keep what your have” choice
More state money wasted on lawyers …
- Mason born - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:52 pm:
It appears from the summary you can for sers at least keep what you have unless the ot part is a diminshment. The other ones seem to be a tad shaky.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:52 pm:
== So if say I am a teacher in my 6th year of service does this mean that my pension will be based off my current salary? ==
The way I am reading the summary, yes … and it’s also clearly unconstitutional.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:55 pm:
Thank God RNUG is back.
We need RNUG’s insights and calm sense of justice now more then ever.
One question for RNUG, really they want to have employees at two weeks of vacation and then three after fifteen years.
I think that they want to chase away employees. It seems that their automate goal is to have big turnover.
What do you think RNUG?
- ugh - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:55 pm:
==
- Mouthy - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 1:50 pm:
So who’s seen the 500 page mystery bill besides the Governor? ==
You think the Governor has read the bill? Very doubtful.
- Here We Go Again - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:56 pm:
RNUG….the SERS changes are obviously based on taking away collective bargaining rights first….correct? So what happens if (and when) taking collective bargaining rights away doesn’t happen?
Also….doesn’t the “Wages not to decline for 5 years” count as a threat more than a perk?
- Wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 2:58 pm:
Swell. Where was this in February?
For crying out loud, it’s July 8, you don’t have a budget, employees aren’t going to get paid, vendors aren’t going to get paid, layoffs are in sight….
F-O-C-U-S.
- Adjunct - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 3:00 pm:
I am an adjunct faculty instructor who makes a wage much lower than many of you might expect. I teach, grade and advise to make sure Illinois kids get a decent education. It is hard work, Governor, hard work. I don’t contribute to social security, which means any future social security benefits I might receive will be reduced. I contribute to SURS. That is my pension. That is my future. And you, Governor, want me to sacrifice the small - yes, small, pension I will receive so you can achieve your anti-worker anti-union agenda? I already anticipate that I will work well beyond the traditional age of retirement. In fact, I may never be able to afford not to work. But, I now realize, Mr. Rauner, that you find governing to be hard work. Until now, I just though you viewed it as a game. My mistake.
- William - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 3:01 pm:
This post is ironic in that it assumes Madigan is governing and not campaigning.
- anon - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 3:03 pm:
Form follows function. If the function is to gain a pension holiday from litigation delay, 500 pages of gobbledy gook might stretch this out from 2 to 3 years.
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 3:07 pm:
==Get outside of Springfield and the man is despised.==
Hey! We don’t like him IN Springfield, either!
But the thing is, that doesn’t change anything. ‘Cause apportion blame for the last 30 years however you want, the legislators who were going to vote for MJM for Speaker still won a majority.
- How Ironic - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 3:10 pm:
So let me get this straight. Rauner can manage to pull a 500 page pension ‘bill’ seemingly from somewhere.
And yet, he can’t manage to go through 19 approp bills to line item out all but the salary info? Which BTW, for those that don’t know is literally 3 lines per bill, sometimes more but usually a whole lot more.
So 19 bills is ‘too much work’ not ‘worth it’, and yet he can whip out a 500 page bill in the blink of an eye?
This doesn’t pass the smell test. Unless the test is for BS.
- RNUG - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 3:17 pm:
== I think that they want to chase away employees. It seems that their automate goal is to have big turnover.
What do you think RNUG? ==
Admittedly, this is based on what I hear from family and friends still working at the State … I think this Governor has created as hostile, if not more hostile, an environment for SERS employees as Blagojevich did. Regardless of his words, he’s proven by his actions he doesn’t value or respect State employees.
Running ‘Tier 1′ employees out the door has some advantages for him:
1) slows down the growth of Tier 1 pension debt
2) gets rid of higher salaried people, lowering the GRF personnel line items
3) opens up slots for partonage hiring, since a lot of the people leaving will be at higher levels
4) saves about 1/3 - 1/2 year salary for each person who leaves because it takes that long to hire a replacement
5) if a new pension tier is introduced or if the civil service rules and regulations are quickly changed, the new hires would be under the new rules
The down side to a wholesale exodus of ‘Tier 1′ are:
1) the loss of institutional knowledge such as occurred in 2002 … but Rauner has made it clear he doesn’t care about institutional knowledge; if we look at his bankruptcy experience, he just wants to tear everything down, and, MAYBE, rebuild it in his vision of better.
2)the loss of Tier 1 contributions going into the pension system
Running ‘Tier 2′ employees out the door may also occur but the only real advantage there would be a slight dip in budgeted salaries for the time it takes to replace them. It would actually be detrimental to the pension systems.
- walker - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 3:19 pm:
This was primarily a press pop, not the best route to actual legislation.
Good, accurate summary by Rich. As he noted yesterday, we all, including Madigan, Durkin, Radogno and Cullerton have to wait for Rauner to spend less time campaigning, and more governing.
- Me too - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 3:24 pm:
Anyone want to bet he is removing wage, benefit seniority, and layoff rights from CB?
- Anonymiss - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 3:25 pm:
>The courts might not agree with it either.
Bingo. And all that matters.
- Mason born - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 3:34 pm:
It occurs to me looking at the summary that by the time you strip out bargaining for wages (the guarantee they won’t decrease for 5 yrs), vacation, vacancy/OT, and seniority (priority in work schedule + bumping) whats left looks like Wisconsin.
- walker - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 3:43 pm:
A Guy: Just between friends:
It’s not a good bet to disagree with Rich on what likely went on behind closed doors in Sp’field. He has his ways of knowing. He exemplifies “educated guess” as well.
- tominchicago - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 3:50 pm:
Me too - “Anyone want to bet he is removing wage, benefit seniority, and layoff rights from CB?”
In that event, what would be left to bargain collectively?
- walker - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 4:12 pm:
Muni bankruptcy and reduced bargaining rights thrown in as well?
When will Rauner Team get serious with legislation on one major issue at a time? Are they arguing that we must have muni bankruptcy to solve the pension problems?
Is that why it’s 500 pages?
- Rusty618 - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 4:15 pm:
==Is this the same pension plan where he steals our vacation and then sells it back if we go to tier 2?==
That is exactly what it is. Rauner feels if he give you something in exchange for a pension decrease, it will be constitutional. Try again.
- Earnest - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 4:16 pm:
Is it me, or are all his solutions starting to boil down to “bankruptcy” or the threat of spending lots of money to beat you in the next election?
- tominchicago - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 4:20 pm:
“Is it me, or are all his solutions starting to boil down to “bankruptcy” or the threat of spending lots of money to beat you in the next election?”
Sounds like a slightly modified version of the GTCR playbook.
- Me too - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 4:21 pm:
Nothing really other than workplace rules which is exactly what Rauner wants. He always intended to be Scott Walker but better bc he did it with a dem majority. Seniority and pay are obvious from the terms outlined. I’m assuming healthcare due to his proposed 500% increase the union doesn’t want to swallow, and layoffs bc he’s trying to get free reign there too. If he can’t novitiate it, why not legislate it? Just a guess, but its a well thought out one.
- Me too - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 4:24 pm:
At least three subjects, well if nothing else it can be overturned on that basis. Hey Bruce, the reason for the single subject clause us so no one tacks unrelated bs onto a bill you need to vote for. At least pretend to know how to Governor.
- Will - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 4:36 pm:
If he is wanting to get rid of Tier 1 employees he should push an ERI. They would go in droves and be replaced by lower paid Tier 2 workers.
- Langhorne - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 4:42 pm:
Getting schooled.
“President Cullerton recognizes that the governor is accepting of many of the principles he’s outlined but the specifics that the governor is advancing is faraway from policies that Cullerton could support,” said Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon. “To simply co-opt language that the Senate President has used and call that negotiation, really does change the definition of negotiation and compromise. You can’t simply co-opt language and pay lip service to someone’s leadership and call that a negotiation.”
- Frank Ambrose - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 5:03 pm:
Didn’t think we could get a governor worse than Blago and more out of touch with reality than Quinn, but we did. Anyone trying to change the pensions without “KEEP WHAT YOU HAVE” as one of the options is just wasting time, money and efort
- nona - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 7:24 pm:
Didn’t Rauner promise to spare police and firefighters fro pension cuts? Or am I confusing him with his role model, Scott Walker?
- Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 8:03 pm:
Along with the poison pills, lack of constitutionality, multiple subjects, etc, that other folks have covered very well, here’s one more stink pickle in the proposal.
Downstate Police and Fire funds have strongly resisted past attempts to be subsumed into IMRF. No reason to think things have changed.
- Bystander - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 8:10 pm:
Thanks to
Langhorne - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 4:42 pm, quoting Cullerton’s spokeswoman, Rikeesha Phelon. Among the best words of the day.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 8:29 pm:
===Along with the poison pills, lack of constitutionality, multiple subjects, etc, that other folks have covered very well, here’s one more stink pickle in the proposal.===
But besides all that…
===Downstate Police and Fire funds have strongly resisted past attempts to be subsumed into IMRF. No reason to think things have changed.===
Other than all that too… - AA -,… think it has a chance?
- Archimedes - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 10:06 pm:
The ILSC ruling on SB1 specifically ruled that capping the maximum salary that may be considered when calculating a members pension was a diminishment of the pension benefit.
Capping the salary at the present level is obviously a diminishment.
- Wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 10:34 pm:
It continues to blow my mind that a governor who considers himself a successful businessman, a conservative and a Republican can be so hot for bankruptcy as a solution to problems.
Back in the day, on Illinois Main Street, you couldn’t find a businessman, conservative or Republican who would consider bankruptcy as anything but deadbeat failure.
Is this for real? Has the Illinois GOP become the party of muni bankruptcy?
Are we going to get a John Tillman lecture on character and morality with the cheap grifter game plan?
- Wordslinger - Wednesday, Jul 8, 15 @ 11:09 pm:
Walker, it’s 500 pages because the Frat Boys want to give the appearance of working really hard while in reality they’re screwing the pooch.
Appearance. Reality.
500 pages, appearance.
On July 8 with no budget, citizens getting stiffed, reality.
And a head-injury-induced explanation as to why they asked a judge to do something they knew was unconstitutional that they could have done on their own within the law.
The misanthropic cynicism here is beyond my comprehension. To pretend you want people to get paid for their work, when you willfully denied them their just due, is not in my area code.
Who has the moral compass in this crew?
It’s supposed to be the boss.
The Sgt. Schultz act he relied on in the campaign does not cut it when he is the governor.
- PublicServant - Thursday, Jul 9, 15 @ 5:20 am:
The bottom line is that whenever Rauner has a bill and calls it one thing, you can be sure that what he really wants has nothing to do with his title.
Someone said Rauner’s goal is to rob Peter to pay Paul. That’s true as long as Peter is middle class and Paul is poor enough to need some form of state assistance.