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Madigan’s preamble

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* One of the most interesting aspects of House Speaker Michael Madigan’s pension reform proposal is the preamble…

“Section 1. Statement and Findings.

At the time of passage of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, Illinois possesses a lower credit rating than each of the other 49 states. This is a consequence both of atypically large debts and of structural imbalances that will, unless addressed by the General Assembly, lead to rapidly growing debts. The debts include a backlog of bills exceeding one-fourth of the State’s annual general revenue, substantial unfunded liabilities associated with health insurance for employees and retirees, and approximately $100 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. The structural imbalances result from projected growth in non-discretionary and formula-driven expenses that significantly outpace projected revenue growth. Of the factors that drive this phenomenon, the most substantialby far is the rapid growth of the annual pension payment, which increased nearly $1 billion between Fiscal Year 2012 and Fiscal Year 2013, and will again increase nearly $1 billion between Fiscal Year 2013 and Fiscal Year 2014, at which time it will consume approximately one-fifth of anticipated general revenue.

The depth of this financial crisis became clear in 2008, and since that time, the State has taken significant action to ameliorate the State’s fiscal troubles. In 2011, the State increased the income tax by sixty-seven percent in Public Act 96-1496. Recognizing that increased revenue alone would not solve the problem, the State has enacted a series of budgets that included deep cuts to nearly every discretionary program, including areas of the budget that are essential in order to provide for the health, safety, welfare, and educational development of the people of Illinois, such as public elementary, secondary, and higher education, human services, and public safety.

The State has both reduced the size of its workforce and reduced discretionary spending. Staffing levels have reduced from more than 65,000 in 2001 to the current level of nearly 44,500. The staffing level is now the lowest it has been in at least the last 25 years. Discretionary spending from the General Revenue Fund (GRF) has been reduced by over $2.8 billion since Fiscal Year 2009, including reductions for primary education of nearly $1 billion, higher education of over $230 million, public safety of over $200 million, and human services, including health care for the poor, of nearly $1.3 million. These reductions have occurred in spite of the rising costs of goods and services, which are particularly high in the area of medical goods and services, which is a significant area of state spending.

In 2010, Public Act 96-889 established a package of pension benefits for new employees that has been determined to be among the least expensive public employee retirement schemes in the country. It can be argued that the new package of pension benefits has placed government employers at a competitive disadvantage, and our public universities, which are vital educational and economic institutions, have been exposed to a significant risk.

In the spring of 2012, the General Assembly made significant reductions to the Medicaid program, passage of Public Acts 97-687, 97-688, 97-689, 97-690, 97-691, a series of reforms to the Medicaid program that is projected to reduce State debt by over $2.5 billion each year by decreasing services, increasing the rate of taxation of cigarette purchases, and accessing available federal funds. The reductions include the elimination of a prescription drug program for low to middle income seniors, across the board provider rate cuts, elimination of health care for adults whose families make above 133% of the federal poverty limit ($31,322 for a family of four), elimination of restorative dental treatments for adults covered by Medicaid, and utilization limits on all remaining services covered by Medicaid. While the Medicaid reforms will result in savings for the State, these reforms have resulted in the denial of crucial health care to hundreds of thousands of needy citizens, threatening to further destabilize an already-troubled safety net.

The General Assembly took significant steps to reduce the cost of current and retired employee health care costs. With Public Act 97-695, the General Assembly eliminated provisions that require that retired state employees with more than 20 years of service receive a 100% premium subsidy for retiree health care coverage after 20 years of service. Beginning with Fiscal Year 2014,

State employees will be required to contribute significantly more toward healthcare premiums, copays, and deductibles. These changes to healthcare will result in an estimated savings of more than $900 million over the next two fiscal years. However, the backlog of payments to providers is estimated to be nearly $1.8 billion at the end of Fiscal Year 2013, and providers will experience a delayed payment cycle of up to 14 months.

Notwithstanding these many steps and their major fiscal, economic, and human impact, the fiscal situation in Illinois continues to deteriorate. Cuts as well as the inability to pay bills due and owing has had a significant impact on each branch of government, units of local government, social service providers, and other vendors.

Two-thirds of Illinois school districts are in a budget deficit, even after massive layoffs and programmatic reductions. For Fiscal Year 2013, General State Aid payments to school districts are currently being prorated at 89% of the calculated amount. For Fiscal Year 2014, the Governor’s introduced level of General State Aid payments would result in a proration of 82%.

Illinois human service providers are experiencing extraordinary fiscal pressures, leading to deficit spending, discontinued programs, and, increasingly, bankruptcies.

On January 19, 2012, the Jane Addams Hull House Association, one of the oldest and most renowned human service agencies in the country, founded by the first Illinoisan to win a Nobel Peace Prize, announced it would close due to financial difficulties. These manifold challenges have exposed the people of Illinois to very substantial harm.

Cuts to the budget of the Department of Corrections have resulted in the closing of two major prisons and three Adult Transitional Centers. Similarly, the Department of Juvenile Justice was forced to close two youth centers. Funding for probation services to help break the cycle of recidivism and improve public safety have steadily declined over the past 5 years due to the fiscal strain on the state budget. For Fiscal Year 2014, the Supreme Court has requested an appropriation to meet statutory probation service requirements of $101,229,500; however, the Governor has proposed an appropriation of $47,140,000 - that’s 53% less than necessary to fund probation services required under law.

Illinois has failed to invest the necessary resources to maintain a viable transportation plan in recent years. By year 2018, nearly 1 in every 3 miles of roads and 1 in every 10 bridges will be in an unacceptable condition. Recent reports have shown that roughly 8% of bridges in Illinois are structurally deficient and 7% of bridges are functionally obsolete. Illinois has not been able to invest the necessary dollars for state and local roads which has led roughly 73% of the roads in the state to be in poor or mediocre condition.

The State’s credit rating has consistently worsened in the assessment of all three major ratings agencies, the State’s backlog of unpaid bills has not grown smaller, and the various non-discretionary and formula-driven expenses whose growth has created the lion’s share of the problem are projected to continue unabated. Under the current payment schedule set in Public Act 88-593, the pension payment especially is expected to grow extremely rapidly until Fiscal Year 2045.

Consequently, the coming months and years will necessarily see much more action by the State to achieve fiscal stabilization. If these steps toward fiscal stabilization do not include pension reform to restrain the growth of the annual pension payment, the result will be devastating and dramatic cuts to education, public safety, and transportation. The impact of such actions on the Illinois economy, and on the health, safety, welfare, and educational development of the people would likely be extremely severe. This harm could include significant economic contraction, which would in turn exacerbate the underlying fiscal challenge, resulting in a downward spiral of standard of living and likely leading to an eventual inability of the state to meet its short term statutory and Constitutional responsibilities.

The State has experienced well-documented pension debt problems for many decades. Throughout this time, General Assemblies and Governors have struggled to find workable solutions. On several occasions, most notably in the instances of Public Acts 88-593 and 96-889, reform efforts were heralded as comprehensive fixes; these claims have in each instance been disproven over time.

The inadequacy of past reform efforts has resulted from two phenomena. First, reforms have instituted actuarially unsound funding schedules that masked the depth of the problem by deferring payments far into the future. Indeed, this practice led to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s charging of Illinois with securities fraud in March 2013. Second, steps that were taken to reduce costs or generate funds to make pension payments were insufficient to make it feasible for the State to meet an actuarially sound funding schedule. Simply put, reform efforts left the State with an unaffordable pension liability, and in order to mask this, the State instituted artificial and ultimately ruinous funding schedules.

The General Assembly has held numerous hearings and reviewed hundreds of documents detailing the problem, probable solutions, and constitutional issues with proposed reform. Given that and all of the above:

The General Assembly finds that the fiscal crisis in the State of Illinois jeopardizes the health, safety, and welfare of the people and compromises the ability to maintain a representative and orderly government.

The General Assembly finds that the pension debt is so great, and the State’s fiscal condition is so challenged, that it is unclear whether any set of actions by the State that do not include substantial reforms to its pension systems can result in the full payment of all promised benefits.

The General Assembly finds that in order to truly solve the State’s pension problem, a reform measure must render the pension liability affordable on an actuarially sound funding schedule, and it must, in a binding fashion, commit the State to maintaining this schedule.

The General Assembly finds that the reforms in this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly are necessary to address the fiscal crisis without incurring further severe and irreparable harm to the public welfare.

The General Assembly finds that this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly constitutes the substantial reform of the State’s pension systems that, along with a series of further steps toward fiscal stabilization, will enable the State to credibly promise the full payment of all pension benefits without incurring unacceptable harm to other areas of State interest.

The General Assembly finds that this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly, with its significant cost-savings, its institution of an actuarially accepted payment schedule, and its historic and binding funding guarantee, is necessary and sufficient in order to meet these goals and solve the State’s pension problem. [Emphasis added.]

Discuss.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 8:45 am

Comments

If the crisis is so bad Why the Macomb bypass?

Comment by RNUG Fan Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 8:49 am
The pitch that they are using here is the police powers section of the constitution. I don’t think that fly’s, Again all is put on the backs of the public employee. More money out of there pocket , they are in a tough situation trying to pay bills. Now we will also hit the retiree’s . How shameful.

Comment by Bigmac Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:00 am
Call me old fashioned, but I think every sentence in a preamble should begin with “Whereas…”

Comment by soccermom Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:02 am
This is a pretty cogent beginnings of a statement of the problem, and is quite helpful if we remember the GA CHOSE to take the actions that led up to the financial mess, and that TAXPAYERS and STATE EMPLOYEES must assume the burden of the solution.

Comment by Cincinnatus Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:04 am
If there is a dire emergency I assume bond holders and venders will receive a hair cut too?

Comment by foster brooks Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:05 am
Most people from Illinois and Chicago are ignorant of our rich history. It is nice to see that the Speaker mentioned the tragic loss of Hull House.

Comment by Ouch Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:07 am
Was the preamble written mainly with the Illinois supreme court in mind, an attempt to make it more difficult for the court to overturn what passes the legislature? With that in mind, I actually wish the preamble had been more dire - “it is unclear whether any set of actions by the State that do not include substantial reforms to its pension systems…” leaves some room for other actions that would solve this.

Comment by Robert the Bruce Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:13 am
“If the crisis is so bad Why the Macomb bypass?”

Econ. development on West side of IL. Trying to create a 4 lane transportation loop from Quincy over to Peoria/Galesburg. Making decent progress, but that’s the next step in the plan.

Comment by Judgment Day Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:13 am
By this logic shouldn’t bond holders be ‘reformed’ as well as pensioners? The interest and fees they receive has grown because of the unfunded liability and contributed to the budget squeeze as well. If you want ’save’ some real money why stop at just screwing the pensioners? Lets cut bond payments as well as contracts and be equitable! Of course this won’t happen but it does seem that we are just focusing on a small part of the problem.BTW the funding guarantee isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Wait until there is another ’shortfall’ in revenue!

Comment by Old and in the Way Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:14 am
Hacking the wages and pensions at WIU will do more harm to western Illinois than that pork will ever do.
if we can build new roads with traffic volumes of less than 3000 vpd there is no crisis

Comment by RNUG Fan Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:18 am
“Lets cut bond payments as well”

Great…. make the bondholders go away. It can’t be hard to run the State out of cash flow …. can it?

Comment by Plutocrat03 Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:24 am
This should really be called a “pre-ramble”.

Let’s not forget that we elected the jamokes who made this possible. Many in this state benefitted from the funds spent on various programs, etc that were made possible by not funding the pensions properly.

Cuts have been made in programs in this state and many taxpayers/state employees are experiencing the effects. I, too, wonder if bond holders and vendors can be hit as well. I am not well versed on the subject - I seem to recall that bond holders and vendors are protected contractually. Are those contractual protections stronger than the ones made to us state employees? Weaker? The same?

Comment by dupage dan Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:28 am
RNUG Fan—-You are forgetting one factor involved here. There are many unneeded road projects that have been for the last few years and are still going on. This is payback for the support of Laborers and Operating Engineers. If you think that ones bad, you should look at the four lanes on Rt 146 for 2 miles at East Cape.

Yes there are improvements to the infrastructure that are terribly needed, but including ones that arent needed keeps the support coming from those big contributors.

Comment by SO IL M Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:32 am
So, the Judges retirement system stays the same. The judges will continue to be able to have their pension figured off of salaries well above the $109,000 limit that will apply to all other State employees and they will continue to get a 3% COLA on 100% of their pension. Hmmm, how convenient.

Comment by Say it Ain't So!! Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:33 am
If its not a diminishment shouldn’t the judges welcome it for themselves?

Comment by RNUG Fan Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:42 am
If the judges rule it isn’t a diminishment, the GA can then add the judges to the pension law and they will then be in the same boat.

Comment by Say it Ain't So!! Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:43 am
Cincy, State employees are taxpayers. But nice try with the divide and conquer strategy frequently employed by Republicans. By the way the preamble doesn’t state the problem. It sums up the effects of the problem. The problem is that state revenues have been structurally deficient for 70 years. The pensions, having been used as a bank by the state to offset that deficiency, are no more the cause of the problem that Visa is if you borrow too much on it. Visa doesn’t need reform if I borrow too much, and neither do the pensions.

Comment by PublicServant Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:45 am
I just cited one near me So IL . IDOT has a whole page of them All of them are low volume enough that Missouris shared 4 lane concept would work fine and save over 10 billion dollars.
I also note that there are contributions for these projects but the biggest contributors are the ones getting the big stick in the eye this morning.
But I think they are getting tired of this crap and might follow Karen

Comment by RNUG Fan Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:46 am
Robert the Bruce - I think that is accurate. Give the Supremes something to hang their hats on. Heck, being Illinois, the deal may already be done!

Comment by Original Rambler Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:46 am
RNUG - since it is obvious you are a WIU employee, why don’t you address the Macomb Bypass question to the Laborers and Operating Engineers whose jobs would be affected by your opinion. Your pension obligation is probably doing more to harm Illinois’ fiscal future than those workers.

I live in the Chicago area now, but as a former Downstater I know that even limited infrastructure investment is a godsend - as well as an investment with a long term benefit for the state.

Comment by anon sequitor Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:47 am
@Say it Ain’t So! 1:33pm - seems like a smart move to me.

The extra cost of funding a limited number of judges pensions pales in comparison to the overall pension liability. So any increased probability of it getting pension reform through the court is well worth it. Cynical? Of course, but idealists don’t pass legislation.

Comment by Robert the Bruce Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:52 am
The Speaker might want to take a closer look at what happened to Jane Addams Hull House before he touts them as a victim of the economy. Mismanagement and poor board oversight were the culprits that lead to their demise.

Comment by Charlatan Heston Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:56 am
I love how you guys suddenly love unions when you want to split them. I am not a WIU employee

Comment by RNUG Fan Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:57 am
It omits the generous union contracts of the Blago years which upped the pension liability. I suppose that could be blamed on the Administration instead of the GA.

Comment by Sir Reel Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:57 am
The state is a sovereign entity that exists in perpetuity, the actuarial argument being used applies to private pension plans, not state plans. Businesses can go bankrupt, thus the 100% funding goal, and the 30 year time period. Neither apply to the state. Thus, employing a reamortization timeframe longer than 30 years isn’t kicking the can down the road, it’s a sustainable way to pay the monies borrowed back.

And to kncok down the McSweeny argument, the average inflation rate over the last century has been 3.3%. He picks the last 20 years, which isn’t the timeframe within which the pension funds operate. Oh, and saving the plans as he says this bill will do…please, you’re already constitutionally required to pay them bud either out of cash on hand, or by funing them properly in advance.

Lastly, since no future legislature can be bound by a law created by the present legislature, no consideration can be implied by the state including the right to sue them. We’ve already got the right to sue.

Comment by PublicServant Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:57 am
===We’ve already got the right to sue. ===

No, you don’t. The Supremes prohibited lawsuits over state funding.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 10:00 am
State government staffing levels are down 32% since 2001, and the lowest in 25 years. Discretionary spending is also substantially down.

I thought “cut the waste”, and “we just have a spending problem” were the simple solutions to all our problems. LOL

Comment by walkinfool Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 10:00 am
Medicaid providers have taken haircuts and other vendors are on a long payment list.

I think everyone knows why bondholders won’t be asked to do so. Such an action would drive debt for infrastructure sky high.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 10:12 am
As the discussion on this blog again looks to the State pension program, revenue streams, etc., I thought folks might like to see the following in case you hadn’t seen it already. http://midwest.chicagofedblogs.org/archives/2013/04/illinois_public.html.

It addresses such issues as the pension issue, Illinois’ tax rate, how it compares to the neighbors’, the effect on Illinois’ economy and its competitiveness if we pay down outstanding obligations, etc… Some key graphs:

“[T]he state is left with a only a couple options—cuts in spending (including cuts in promised pension payouts) and hikes in taxes and fees. Curbs on the growth of spending are clearly in the cards. Even if the state devotes increasing revenues to paying down its accumulated debt—which it is now doing—it will likely also require sharp declines in public service provision. Already, for example, state aid to public education has flattened out over the past three years. Similarly, the state has trimmed its promised pension benefits for new state employees.”

“If we compare the overall average tax burden of Illinois with that of its neighboring states over the past 15 years, we find that Illinois actually kept its tax burdens lower than its neighbors’ from FY 1995 through 2010 by deferring its commitments for employee compensation. However, now that debts must be repaid, tax burdens will possibly rise above national and regional norms. Accordingly, a potential downside is a dampening of growth and development as rising taxes, without any accompanying rise in services, diminishes the attractiveness of investment and livability in the state.”

And from the conclusion:

“It is clear from this exercise that, had public services been funded on a “pay as you go” manner, the state’s average tax rate would have been significantly higher than those of its neighbors and the nation for decades. Since public services would not have changed by using this method of payment, but taxes would have been higher, Illinois’s economic growth would likely have been lower. Going forward, at least part of Illinois’s accumulated debt will be paid for through revenue enhancements, which will push the state’s ATR above its long-run average, likely raising it relative to those of neighboring states.

How much will this impede Illinois’s economic growth? Public taxes and services are not typically the most decisive factor in state growth and development. Indeed, many studies that have estimated the responsiveness of local growth to state-local tax differences find, on average, only a small to modest responsiveness of growth to state-local tax burdens. However, a tax rate hike of this size, which is conservatively estimated, would likely exercise a moderating overall influence on growth and development. And for some types of business activity, especially those that could easily escape the burden of taxation by moving across a nearby border, the impacts may be greater.”

Just some thoughts to keep in the mix as discussions here and elsewhere go forward.

Comment by Gurnge Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 10:16 am
Let’s pass all the other actions first and then see what things look like …

Comment by RNUG Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 10:30 am
“Recognizing that increased revenue alone would not solve the problem, the State has enacted a series of budgets that included deep cuts to nearly every discretionary program, including areas of the budget that are essential in order to provide for the health, safety, welfare, and educational development of the people of Illinois, such as public elementary, secondary, and higher education, human services, and public safety.”

Sounds like it’s time to take a deep breath and enact a graduated income tax. We can’t get a handle on our structural imbalances until we do.

Comment by olddog Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 10:36 am
anon sequitor - Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:47 am:

I think you intended that post for “RNUG Fan” … since I hadn’t even posted on this thread until 10:30

Comment by RNUG Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 10:45 am
==In 2011, the State increased the income tax by sixty-seven percent in Public Act 96-1496.==

But the Speaker fails to mention that 32 other states still have higher individual income tax rates than those in Illinois.

Comment by Joe M Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 10:45 am
And if the State would have had to have been paying even the employer’s 6.2% Social Security contribution for all of the five pension systems, the State would have had to have increased state income taxes long before 2011.

Comment by Joe M Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 10:51 am
I’m sorry, I read the whole thing and missed the part about legislative pay and pension cuts.

===General Assemblies and Governors have struggled to find workable solutions. On several occasions, most notably in the instances of Public Acts 88-593 and 96-889, reform efforts were heralded as comprehensive fixes; these claims have in each instance been disproven over time.==

Translated—politicians lied to us!

Comment by Non-ISRA Member Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 11:26 am
I 2nd what PubServant said. This is about politics more than pension reform. The state is a sovereign entity and can generate revenue to bail out the state’s pension systems-unlike the private sector. Madigan is doing what he does best-messing with people.

Comment by Soccertease Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 11:46 am
- PublicServant - Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:45 am:

Cincy, State employees are taxpayers.

+++++++++++++++++++

You’ve read and interpreted my comment incorrectly. As a matter of fact, I agree with your sentiments, except for your blaming Republicans for something…

Comment by Cincinnatus Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 11:49 am
–I agree with your sentiments, except for your blaming Republicans for something… –

LOL, which is your position: irrelevant or just unaccountable for the last 50 years?

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 11:53 am
“Cincy, State employees are taxpayers. ”

But State Pensioners are not. TAX THE PENSIONS!

And, yes, the tax would apply to Pensioners moving to AZ and FL–it’s Illinois Income, and the state just withholds 5% from the check mailed to La Boca Vista #12.

Comment by Chris Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 11:55 am
And Mr.Speaker, your vote on PA 88-593 (1995 funding plan) and PA 96-889 (tier 2) ?

Yes and Yes.

The 1995 law was flawed, but had a chance until the ramp was flattened, twice, by Blago and Filan, with the Speaker voting yes again.

Anyone who thought Tier 2 was going to solve the funding problem was misinformed, goofy, or Pat Quinn.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 12:07 pm
I hope the Supreme Court reads it.

Comment by Dan Johnson Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 12:12 pm
Glad to see you’re listening Rich. My point is thats not consideration. since future legislatures can’t be bound by it. We’ve got constitutional protection and the decision to which you refer stated that while we can’t force them to pay on time, that the state is ultimately responsible. So exactly zero consideration is being offered by the so-called right to sue.

Comment by PublicServant Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 12:14 pm
I wish MJM had been involved in State government in past years and maybe we wouldn’t have these problems! I also wish he had a much younger relative that we anoint as Illinois’ savior/governor to keep the State on the Madigan path to recovery & success! What a guy!

Comment by Steamer Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 12:36 pm
Chris @ 11:55 am:

Actually, retirees living in the State do pay state level taxes (retail sales, telephone, gasoline, license plates, etc.) and local level taxes (property, retial sales); they just don’t pay the individual income tax. And that is true of ALL retirees and ALL retirement income, not just state government retirees.

And since 1995 Federal law prevents the State from taxing pensions paid to retirees living out of State.

http://www.ssbb.com/index.php/publications/entry/145

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19960211&id=iW1XAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YfEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4964,66673

Comment by RNUG Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 12:55 pm
sort of like a statement of candidacy. hmmmm…..

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 12:56 pm
Rich / Public Servant,

The language in this bill’s guarentee just gives the retirement systems the right to sue the State, so I don’t see that as an consideration because there is no individual right to sue given. Other proposed bills actually allowed the individual retiree to sue if the retirement systems did not act, so there was a smidgen of consideration in those bills.

Comment by RNUG Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 12:59 pm
I don’t disagree with anything I see in the preamble. But it left out the most important part. The current pension funding crisis is the direct result of a series of conscious decisions by elected officials. Repeated failure to provide appropriate levels of funding coupled with hundreds of pension sweeteners over the years and what do you know? We wake up and discover that we have a funding crisis. How did that happen?

Comment by One of the 35 Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 1:18 pm
RNUG - you are correct - mea culpa.

As to “fan” I guess he is nothing more than a troll anyway, so I’ll do what I should have done in the first place - ignore him.

Comment by anon sequitor Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 1:24 pm
And Mr. Madigan, you played a pivotal role in those conscious decisions by state elected officials.

Comment by One of the 35 Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 1:25 pm
” since 1995 Federal law prevents the State from taxing pensions paid to retirees living out of State. ”

I stand corrected.

[off topic rant:]Where was the state’s rights brigade on that one? Why are retirees exempt, but no one else? Pile of steaming giveaway to the AARP set.[/off topic rant]

Comment by Chris Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 1:35 pm
The Great and Powerful Oz has spoken!

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 2:03 pm
Did I say that, wordslinger?

Comment by Cincinnatus Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 2:42 pm
Pointing out pork and waste is trolling?

Comment by RNUG Fan Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 3:30 pm
My question is this. Besides the fact that MJM just wrote a very detailed example of why his speaker-ship has failed he does point out a fiscal emergency. Therefore he wants to use Police Powers to rewrite a contract protected by the Constitution. My Question is doesn’t the Police Powers exemption he is asking for require him to do the least amount of “damage” necessary to resolve the emergency? Would a “temporary” tax increase not be a smaller damage? How about reducing the Interest Rate paid on outstanding bills to Market rate? Or for that Matter a Tier three system? Don’t get me wrong i am not proposing any of the above but it seems like his solution is a little targeted to say it is only possible fix.

Then again this is IL and the Courts may say Mr. Speaker whatever you want.

Comment by Mason born Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 4:46 pm
===Besides the fact that MJM just wrote a very detailed example of why his speaker-ship has failed he does point out a fiscal emergency.===

===And Mr. Madigan, you played a pivotal role in those conscious decisions by state elected officials.===

- Steamer -, and …

===…except for your blaming Republicans for something… ===

In the past 30 years, Democrats, Republicans, Republican governors, Republican Speakers, Democratic - governors and speakers … all have come and gone.

Both parties are to blame, and the Preamble is not as much an indictment of Madigan’s stewartship solely, as much as it’s not an indictment on Edgar’s govenorship, or Daniels’ speakership, or Rod’s governorship, or whatever. It’s not an indictment on one, but a passage showing failures of US all, and all “our” leadership in both parties, in both chambers, in the Mansion. Reading it any different at this stage is just reading from tinted lenses, bending the light to meet an agenda.

The preamble is making the case of what the Speaker, today, feels nedds to be said, to get what he feels needs to be done, and how the Speaker sees it can go through constitutionally, (and I am clueless as to that aspect, overall and specific to any and all parts!)

Argue the merits of every aspect, and there has been incredible insight that I have loved and learned from, and which I thank all the great people here for dropping on me.

However, this is an example of “too many cooks spoiling the soup” over 30 plus years. Bringing the “blame game” to one party, one chamber, one person is a bit lazy and a bit late to the game.

Sorry, as I am reading all the great stuff, the “drive-by” blame game is getting a bit tired.

Respectfully.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 6:14 pm
Yeah, treat us like this Mr. Speaker. I’m sure we’ll continue to do more with less, and work super hard as loyal public servants. I’m seriously demoralized. At least the private sector looks you in the eyes when it screws you over.

Comment by Jimbo Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 6:37 pm
Well said, Willy.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 6:57 pm
A reminder for time immemorial.
An acknowledgment codified.
A letter to former lovers.

Comment by Cheswick Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 7:27 pm
http://www.dot.state.il.us/projects.html
Some Illinois dreaming

http://abetter54.com/

A good idea from Missouri

Comment by RNUG Fan Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 7:52 pm
Willy…I think you’ve struck the nail…directly on its head!

Comment by Steamer Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 8:33 pm
OW, I want to make it clear that I don’t solely blame republicans for the travesty of justice and morality that this bill represents, although I feel that their natural animosity to the middle class and government in general makes them my natural enemies as a state employee.

This is my opinion obviously, but I feel that the republican party is controlled by and advocates for the one percent, against both the middle class and the poor when push comes to shove. In that same vein, the democrats, in spite of the right wing nutjobs assertion that the unions control the legislature which the current bill proves is not true, have shown that when push comes to shove, the middle class, in this case represented by the state employee middle class, will be sacrificed just as easily as the republicans do, for the sake of their core constituency of the poor.

Having said that, I am not one that advocates sacrificing the programs that aid the poor and benefit our state. My firm belief is that neither party represents me as has clearly been shown by the partisan theft embodied in the bills that are likely to be passed.

The middle class doesn’t have a party that represents them, they’re paid lip-service until push comes to shove, just like now.

Take the immigration bill as an example: what was readily sacrificed to advance a compromise was H1B visas which hit middle class professional salaries. They’re held artificially low because an immigrant knows he/she can’t complain about either a current salary or a wage increase because the company controls their green card. Citizenship is dangled and is their ultimate goal. They willingly sacrifice salary for that goal. Current US citizens can’t compete fairly with that since they already have citizenship. Both dems and repubs have no problem including that concession to achieve the goals they feel are more central to their base. The middle class takes the brunt of that. Same thing is happening here with the pension. A segment of the middle class has been demonized to advance a clearly unconstitutional bill. A bill whose backers contend is constitutional because of the state’s police powers to abrogate the constitution in a crisis. There is definitely a crisis, but that crisis was knowingly caused by the people dems as well as repubs that are now trying to use the crisis they caused as a valid reason to abrogate the constitution. A pox on both their houses.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 8:48 pm
Sorry, that was me above.

Comment by publicservant Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 8:49 pm
“It (preamble)would be used in the argument to the court and as happens in all major legislation, we’re concerned about legislative intent,” Madigan said, “and that’s part of the intent.”

http://t.co/KWuLKaLFG7

Seems that the legislative intent of a law is only important when it’s MJM intent.

Comment by Where will it end Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 9:24 pm
>>

I’m sorry, I must have missed the part in the preamble that stated Dan Walker, Bill Redmond, Phil Rock, Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar, George Ryan, Lee Daniels, Emil Jones, Pate Philip, Rod Blagojevich, Frank Watson, Tom Cross and Christine Radogno (yep, those minority leaders voted for or helped craft budgets that shorted the pensions, too) were not complicit in any way, shape or form for the state of the pension systems. Maybe written in invisible ink?

For your own mental health, do yourself a favor and release yourself from the curse of Pat Brady. Stop blaming everything under the sun on Madigan. It’s so 2012. Good grief.

Comment by Interested Observer Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 10:19 pm
My comment in reference to Mr. Mason Born’s comment:

===My question is this. Besides the fact that MJM just wrote a very detailed example of why his speaker-ship has failed===

Comment by Interested Observer Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 10:21 pm
- Arthur Andersen -, - steamer -, - publicservant -,

Thanks for the feedback and understanding. Appreciate that.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 11:17 pm
But was this not the crisis in 1970 when they specifically decided to protect pensions?

And didnt they decide not to call a new convention while this crisis was going on? i.e. there seems to be a problem that knowing of this crisis they elceted not to try and change the constitution, but this staute attempts to do just that.

On a side note, leaving the judges out may create a us constitution issue under section 1981 claim. particuarly since they are not treating all pension systems of the State uniformly.

Comment by Ghost Wednesday, May 1, 13 @ 11:42 pm
The Supreme court in”sklodowski” said no rith to sue for funding unless the facts showed that the pension system was on the verge of collapse or iminent bankruptcy. Looks like This bill says that, so i guess it is time to sue for funding based on the preamble

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