tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post6008028456772453442..comments2023-11-22T04:27:07.521-06:00Comments on glen brown: Illinois Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill 2404: A Speculationgbrownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13435049339082622611noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-18555275361721245232013-05-08T15:09:17.323-05:002013-05-08T15:09:17.323-05:00IEA is actively killing the possibility of a court...IEA is actively killing the possibility of a court challenge. How? It has put into writing for all its members and pension attackers to read, "Senate Bill 2404, is a constitutional alternative to House Speaker Michael Madigan’s Senate Bill 1."<br />As a matter of fact, this statement alone shows that no one "at the table" is covering our backs in this attack against us and our pensions.<br />Madigan, Cross and Quinn are well paid minions of the Civic Committee. (Yes, the list is longer.) Soglin, Ingram and Klickna are incompetent or corrupt - or both. We may never know the details to the behind-closed-doors deals cut by these combined cut-throats. <br />-KenTeachershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122053178544975314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-7188513277416835312013-05-08T10:59:43.112-05:002013-05-08T10:59:43.112-05:00I am sick to death of reading about "pension ...I am sick to death of reading about "pension reform." For three and a half years we have been having the wrong conversation. I think both bills would be found unconstitutional and the legislators will have to seek a new remedy. A remedy that includes all - corporations, 1%ers, middle class, everyone! We need Revenue Reform! Let's stop penalizing and vilifying the public employees just because they will receive a pension. It was the rule of the game when we started playing and no one would put up with changing the rules in the middle of the game. For others who look at public employees with a pension and say, "why should you get one?", I don't! WELL YOU SHOULD!!!! Only in the United States do we practice this type of sick mentality - where corruption and greed is masked as "reform!"IL Teacher ILhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11655647615063474437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-27127604213043075162013-05-08T10:33:34.954-05:002013-05-08T10:33:34.954-05:00The attack on the IRTA is a disturbing dimension o...The attack on the IRTA is a disturbing dimension of the pension debate by Fred Klonsky<br /><br />I’ve heard this. Let the union leadership bargain the best deal they can, and then go to court anyway. If the courts rule in defense of the constitution then all is good and the legislature will have to go back and address the revenue issue like they should have. If the courts rule that the legislature can ignore the constitution, then at least we will have the better of the two bad deals. You know your living in Illinois when you’re forced to engage in that kind of thinking.<br /><br />I believe that the We Are One legal minds say that by coming up with this bargain SB 2404 emerges constitutional. The law allows for a modification of a contract. By conceding to the diminished benefits of SB 2404 the We Are One coalition, the IEA included, undermines any legal recourse others may seek, including recourse by the 35,000 member Illinois Retired Teachers Association.<br /><br />This brings me to the role of the IRTA, which is not a union. They are charged with protecting the interests of teacher retirees in Illinois.<br /><br />Some defenders of the pension deal have turned on the IRTA because they refuse to agree that something that was unconstitutional yesterday is constitutional today. To criticize them for having administrators as members or for not being concerned with active teachers (although many IRTA members are) is like criticizing the American Medical Association because they are not lobbying for farmers. I think both organizations are important. We need a strong advocate for teacher retirees. And we need a strong retired branch of the IEA working inside the union to make sure that it fights in the interests of both active and retired teachers.<br /><br />http://preaprez.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/the-attack-on-the-irta-is-a-disturbing-dimension-of-the-pension-debate/<br />gbrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13435049339082622611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1797875972831999598.post-50316204165888158572013-05-08T09:46:38.990-05:002013-05-08T09:46:38.990-05:00A Letter from Roger Sanders
PENSION REFORM IN DISA...A Letter from Roger Sanders<br />PENSION REFORM IN DISARRAY AGAIN<br /><br />Today's update on the pension reform process is ugly, regardless of what your preferred solution is.<br /><br />First, with IRTA announcing that if SB2404 passes (which forces retirees to choose between current COLA benefits and access to state health insurance), the IRTA intends to use its legal defense fund to challenge the law as unconstitutional. Speaker Madigan is now taking the stance that why not pass the more draconian SB1 (Amendment 1) that the House approved since it will "save more money." Madigan's position is that if both bills face a constitutional challenge, why not go with his? This places greater pressure on Cullerton and any compromise between the two houses, if that was ever possible.<br /><br />My opinion: this is a perfect example why working only through the state unions and not directly including IRTA in the process has been a mistake by all parties. I cannot support SB2404 or SB1. Just a short time ago the Senate passed a bill (SB1 original) that did not include retirees. Now the Senate has brought retirees into the mix. What has changed in that short time? Plus, Cullerton only got SB1 (original) through the Senate when the retirees were pulled out. He didn't have the votes then, but apparently things have changed. In my non-legal view, both bills violate the Illinois Constitution.<br /><br />AND there is every reason to expect that politicians will be back for more soon. They are still using the "nibble-nibble" approach to attack pensions rather than look at a truly comprehensive solution. Neither SB1 nor SB2404 as they stand today are comprehensive solutions. Don't think for one N.Y. second that if either of these bills becomes a reality that politicians won't be back for more. They absolutely will.<br /><br />Madigan has announced that he is also going to pursue the cost shift to have local districts pick up the cost of pensions. We all know what that means, either higher local taxes, drastic cuts in school staffing levels, and/or significant teacher salary cuts.<br /><br />AND another possibility exists. Combine SB1 (Amended) with SB2404 into one bill and see what the Illinois Supreme Court does with it. The approach of just throwing something at the wall and see what sticks is repugnant. <br /><br />The culture of political expediency, collusion, and corruption in Illinois continues. The public employees, retirees, and all citizens of Illinois deserve better. <br /><br />--Roger Sanders<br />gbrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13435049339082622611noreply@blogger.com