Last Updated 1/11/14
Recently, the Illinois General Assembly passed, and Governor Quinn signed, Senate Bill 1, which significantly reduced pension benefits for current retirees and current workers. Lawsuits (probably several) will soon be filed to test the contitutionality of that new law. This page features links to articles, discussions, and opinions regarding the issue. The links are categorized by subject.
For an estimate of personal losses due to the new legislation, use my calculator (it works for current retirees only).
General Discussion
- Illinois Federation of Teachers president Dan Montgomery on Teacher Pensions (audio)
- Robbing Illinois’ Public Employees
- A Hard Lesson From Motown: They Will Steal Your Pension from Newsweek
- SURS Pension Reform Summary
Constitutionality
- Is Pension Reform Deal Unconstitutional? (video)
- Understanding the Legal Limits on Public Pension Reform
- Is Welching on Public Pensions an Option for Illinois? (legal analysis by Eric M. Madiar for Sen. Cullerton)
- Counterpoint: Can Illinois Reduce Pension Benefits Going Forward? (Chicago Tribune article from 2010)
- State Supreme Court Justices Rake in Cash Tied to Pension-law Players (Chicago Sun-Times)
- Illinois Pension Law Challengers Lay Out Their Cases (The Bond Buyer)
- SUAA MiniBriefing (SUAA, 1/10/14)
- RNUG’s Analysis of the Three Pension Reform Lawsuits Filed So Far (Capitol Fax)
Economic Impact
- Illinois’ Pension Reform Doesn’t Fix State’s Credit Problems
- Pension Bill’s Accounting Gimmicks Ignores $6-$8 Billion in Debt
- 2 Big Myths About Illinois Pension Reform (Wall Street Journal)
Political Issues
- Looting the Pension Funds: How Wall Street Robs Public Workers by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone
- Illinois Republicans Defend Public Workers in Pension Battles from Bloomberg Personal Finance
- Pensions Become Less Certain for Government Workers from NPR
- Shining a Light on ALEC’s Power to Shape Policy from Bill Moyers
- Politicos Pilfering Public Pensions (video)
- Right-wing Pension-cutters Get Humiliated by Their Own Survey Data by David Sirota in Salon
Opinions (from a variety of viewpoints)
- Retirement Crisis Grows as Cities Raid Pension and Health Plans
- Pension Theft: Class War Goes to the Next Stage from Huffington Post
- Pension Vocabulary from John Dillon
- Pensions for Citizens from Don Washington
- Retirement Theft in 4 Despicable Steps from AlterNet
