Madigan Overhauls Cullerton Pension Plan
From the Chicago Sun-Times
In a potential breakthrough, a new pension package pushed by House Speaker Michael Madigan surfaced Tuesday that scraps a framework favored by Senate President John Cullerton but still angers labor unions, who derided the plan as “illegal” and vowed a legal challenge if it passes.
Madigan’s 277-page revision to a Senate-passed bill originally backed by Cullerton would reel in the size of annual pension boosts retired state workers and teachers get and spare suburban and Downstate school systems from shouldering the state’s share of educators’ pension costs.
The plan could be voted on by a House committee Wednesday and perhaps by the full House later this week. But it still appears to leave the House and Senate at odds over how to solve the state’s nearly $100 billion pension crisis while living within the constraints of Illinois’ Constitution.
A spokesman for Madigan (D-Chicago), Steve Brown, expressed confidence the newly drafted legislation would get enough votes to pass the House.
“We hopefully can get 60,” Brown said, referring to the number of votes needed for passage.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Sun-Times
In a potential breakthrough, a new pension package pushed by House Speaker Michael Madigan surfaced Tuesday that scraps a framework favored by Senate President John Cullerton but still angers labor unions, who derided the plan as “illegal” and vowed a legal challenge if it passes.
Madigan’s 277-page revision to a Senate-passed bill originally backed by Cullerton would reel in the size of annual pension boosts retired state workers and teachers get and spare suburban and Downstate school systems from shouldering the state’s share of educators’ pension costs.
The plan could be voted on by a House committee Wednesday and perhaps by the full House later this week. But it still appears to leave the House and Senate at odds over how to solve the state’s nearly $100 billion pension crisis while living within the constraints of Illinois’ Constitution.
A spokesman for Madigan (D-Chicago), Steve Brown, expressed confidence the newly drafted legislation would get enough votes to pass the House.
“We hopefully can get 60,” Brown said, referring to the number of votes needed for passage.
Read more in our daily News Update...