“Remember the pension you protect now is what you will live on for the rest of your life” by Bob Lyons

“The word out of Springfield is that Madigan will call the House into session next Tuesday, December 3, meaning he thinks that he has enough Democrat votes to put on a pension reduction bill. But the other news this morning is that Bruce Rauner, GOP candidate for Governor of Illinois, is working to convince legislative Republicans to vote against the bill.  

“Does that make the well-financed Rauner and the Republicans that join him our friends?  Not exactly, because their stated problem with the bill being crafted by the legislative leaders is that it does not go far enough to reduce benefits and may call for a slight reduction in contributions from teachers and other public workers; worst of all, it would have an enforceable guarantee of full state funding, which they consider dangerous for their plans to reduce taxes.

 

“Even though the GOP is a decided minority in both houses, the Democrats have always hoped that the Republicans could provide as many votes in favor of their eventual bill as the Dems could gain for their effort.  If not enough Republican votes are there, that would leave Madigan with a serious problem where in order to pass the legislation that he wants he would need to risk putting his members in districts that are not considered safe on a bill that could cost them more votes in November than they could ever hope to gain!     

 

“If you live in a district like my own area that has been traditionally Republican, but now has Democrat legislators, they are vulnerable to your efforts.  It is rare to find a legislator, Republican or Democrat, who believes losing an election is worth solving any problem the state of Illinois faces. You do not find very many elected officials who are willing to be a martyr for a cause that their party leader fancies.   Madigan’s first goal has always been to keep his majority.  

“This bill can still be stopped. Your efforts to convince your legislators that our cause is not only fair, moral and constitutional, but is also politically the best thing for them to do can make a difference. Remember the pension you protect now is what you will live on for the rest of your life”

—Bob Lyons