Pension End Run May Happen NOW! Call Your Legislators!

Pictured above is Mike Madigan's Stooge, Representative Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook, who is leading the charge against active teachers and retirees.

I just heard on WBBM radio in Chicago tonight that the Illinois State Legislature plans to consider a pension bill on Wednesday, December 5th, the last day of the fall veto session.

According to the Associated Press, State Representative Elaine Nekritz, a Democrat from Northbook will hold a press conference Wednesday morning which will feature at least two unnamed Republican lawmakers.

Nekritz is House Speaker Mike Madigan's toad.  Madigan is of course nowhere to be found.

According to the Springfield State Journal-Register, the bill calls for the following provisions for teachers hired before January 1, 2011:

*Cost of living adjustments would apply only to the first $25,000 of a pension if the retiree does not receive Social Security and $20,000 if he or she does. This change applies to both current and future retirees.

*Pensioners would receive no COLA adjustment until they reach age 67 or five years after they retire, whichever comes first. The summary says this provision will apply to retirees already receiving COLAs. So an employee who retired at age 58 and is now 60 would not receive another COLA adjustment until age 63.

*The retirement age would increase as follows:  Retirement ages in the current statute would apply to employees 46 and older.  One year would be added to current retirement ages for employees between 40 and 45 years old.  Employees age 35 to 39 would have to wait an additional three years.  Employees 34 and younger would have to wait an additional five years to retire.

*Employee contributions to pensions would go up by 1 percentage point in fiscal year 2014 and 2 percentage points in fiscal year 2015.

*The salary that counts toward a pension would be capped at the higher of the Social Security wage base or the employees’ salary when the bill becomes law.

Once again the two teachers' unions, the IEA and the IFT, have been left completely out of negotiations.  I'm sure Laurence Msall and his rich cronies at the Civic Federation in Chicago have had their red noses right in the middle of negotiations.  The Civic Federation has spent millions in anti-pension propaganda.

And these Civic Federation jokers will not pay a dime if this bill passes.  The burden will be placed on the backs of teachers, and the rich Civic Federation members will wallow in their tax breaks provided by the State of Illinois.

I'm bitching and moaning when I should be calling--and so should you! Call now and leave a message in Springfield for your state legislator.  Tell him or her to vote "NO" on this unconstitutional bill.

If you get no answer in Springfield, call the local office and leave a message there.

Don't let the legislature pass this bill on Wednesday!