Oppose the Conference Committee Proposal! (from the We Are One Coalition of Illinois)

Call your legislators toll-free now at 888-412-6570 and tell them to oppose the draft plan by the conference committee.  Click here to call.

The legislature will be in fall veto session over the dates of October 22-24 and November 5-7. At any time, the legislature could vote on a draft plan formed by the conference committee that’s just as bad as House Speaker Michael Madigan’s Senate Bill 1. 

At this point, credible media reports indicate that the plan includes:

1. Half-CPI COLA. This cut replaces the 3% compounded cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) with a COLA that only keeps pace with half the inflation rate. This “Half-CPI” COLA means pensions will always lose value to inflation by design, and senior citizens won’t be able to keep up with rising living expenses. The Half-CPI COLA cuts pensions essentially as deeply as SB 1.

2. COLA holidays -- up to five years. On top of the Half-CPI COLA cut, the plan mandates COLA holidays of up to five years – again, similar to SB 1. These long COLA holidays further erode pension values and harm retirement security.

3. Cap on the amount of salary that earns a pension. This cap ignores the mandatory overtime worked by many public employees, especially those with physically-demanding, high-risk professions.