An Illinois House committee today approved a new Republican plan to control state pension costs. This version drops a proposal to make local schools and universities pay future retirement costs for their employees. House Republican Leader Tom Cross is the bill's sponsor. He says even if the House and Senate pass the pension bill there will be more work to do. The full House is expected to vote on the bill later today. There is some concern the bill will not make it through the legislature before the session adjourns tonight at midnight. Democratic Representative Daniel Biss of Evanston says he wouldn't bet on the prospects. The governor's office says the state could save up to $88 billion over the next 30 years under the Republican's plan, enough, Pat Quinn's administration says to appease bond agencies that have been threatening to downgrade the state's credit rating unless Illinois fixes its pensions funding problem.
Wednesday night House Speaker Mike Madigan dropped his proposal to make Illinois schools and colleges pay retirement costs for their employees at the request of the Governor. Madigan handed the pension bill over to Republican leader Tom Cross. Under the revised measure state and university employees and public school teachers will face a choice: accept lower cost-of-living adjustments in retirement or don't have future pay increases count toward your pensions. Employees who don't accept the reduced retirement package will also lose access to state healthcare after they retire.
Tuesday, Madigan said it's not right the state has to pick up the tab for a group of workers it has no say in the salary of: "There's a concept in America that we all strive to live under, which is called responsibility. Responsibility for our actions. And when one person can spend money and send the bill to somebody else, that's not responsible, that's not responsibility. That's un-American." Opponents of the cost-shifting provision claimed doing so would amount to a tax increase and force state colleges and universities to raise tuition.
An in depth synopsis of the proposed changes is available here from the State University Retirement System.
