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Lawmakers File Pension Reform Plans in New General Assembly
The first full day of the new legislative session is in the books at the statehouse, and the discussion on pension reform is expected to continue when lawmakers return in a few weeks.
The proposals are the same as what was discussed over the last week.
Sponsors are hoping with about 40 new faces in the General Assembly, they can find the support to enact change.
The 98th General Assembly spent only a few minutes on the floor during the first full day of the legislative session.
The sponsors of two different proposals for pension reform are putting their plans on file for discussion when lawmakers return to the Capitol in a few weeks.
"We made some real significant progress in the last few weeks," Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Democrat from Northbrook, said. "I've got some new co-sponsors who signed on today that have had a very active discussion about it, and we'll start to talk to new members one by one."
Nekritz is regrouping after she didn't have the votes to pass her outline for change earlier this week.
For employees hired before 2011, she proposes delaying retirement by one to five years for workers under age 46. Her plan would require employees to contribute 2 percent more to their pensions. The plan would also apply cost-of-living adjustments to only the first $25,000. It once again includes a gradual shift in the cost of teacher pensions from the state to local school districts over the next 30 years.
Downstate lawmakers opposed it before, and say it's still a deal breaker.
"That's bipartisan, not Republican or Democrat," Rep. Raymond Poe, a Republican from Springfield, said. "The property taxes that shift back to the school districts and ultimately that goes back to the taxpayers. What's really bad about that is Sangamon County is a tax-capped county, so the school districts would be stuck with the bill, nowhere to get their money. You'd literally take the money from the classroom."
Senate President John Cullerton re-filed his proposal for pension reform. The Senate approved it last year, but the House never called it for a vote.
The plan would give employees the choice of either accepting a reduction in their cost-of-living increase or forgoing certain healthcare benefits and future increases in pensionable income.
The senate is scheduled to return to the capitol during the first week of February. The House is scheduled to return on January 30.
Lawmakers File Pension Reform Plans in New General Assembly
The first full day of the new legislative session is in the books at the statehouse, and the discussion on pension reform is expected to continue when lawmakers return in a few weeks.
The proposals are the same as what was discussed over the last week.
Sponsors are hoping with about 40 new faces in the General Assembly, they can find the support to enact change.
The 98th General Assembly spent only a few minutes on the floor during the first full day of the legislative session.
The sponsors of two different proposals for pension reform are putting their plans on file for discussion when lawmakers return to the Capitol in a few weeks.
"We made some real significant progress in the last few weeks," Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Democrat from Northbrook, said. "I've got some new co-sponsors who signed on today that have had a very active discussion about it, and we'll start to talk to new members one by one."
Nekritz is regrouping after she didn't have the votes to pass her outline for change earlier this week.
For employees hired before 2011, she proposes delaying retirement by one to five years for workers under age 46. Her plan would require employees to contribute 2 percent more to their pensions. The plan would also apply cost-of-living adjustments to only the first $25,000. It once again includes a gradual shift in the cost of teacher pensions from the state to local school districts over the next 30 years.
Downstate lawmakers opposed it before, and say it's still a deal breaker.
"That's bipartisan, not Republican or Democrat," Rep. Raymond Poe, a Republican from Springfield, said. "The property taxes that shift back to the school districts and ultimately that goes back to the taxpayers. What's really bad about that is Sangamon County is a tax-capped county, so the school districts would be stuck with the bill, nowhere to get their money. You'd literally take the money from the classroom."
Senate President John Cullerton re-filed his proposal for pension reform. The Senate approved it last year, but the House never called it for a vote.
The plan would give employees the choice of either accepting a reduction in their cost-of-living increase or forgoing certain healthcare benefits and future increases in pensionable income.
The senate is scheduled to return to the capitol during the first week of February. The House is scheduled to return on January 30.
