U.S. Senate See Full Big Line

(D) J. Hickenlooper*

(R) Somebody

80%

20%

Governor See Full Big Line

(D) Phil Weiser (D) Joe Neguse (D) Michael Bennet

50% 50% 50%

Att. General See Full Big Line

(D) M. Dougherty

(D) Jena Griswold

(D) Brian Mason

60%↑

30%↑

20%↓

Sec. of State See Full Big Line

(D) A. Gonzalez

(D) George Stern

(R) Sheri Davis

50%↑

40%

30%

State Treasurer See Full Big Line

(D) Brianna Titone

(R) Kevin Grantham

(D) Jerry DiTullio

60%↑

30%

20%↓

CO-01 (Denver) See Full Big Line

(D) Diana DeGette*

(R) Somebody

90%

CO-02 (Boulder-ish) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse*

(R) Somebody

90%

CO-03 (West & Southern CO) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Hurd*

(D) Somebody

80%

40%

CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado) See Full Big Line

(R) Lauren Boebert*

(D) Somebody

90%

10%

CO-05 (Colorado Springs) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Crank*

(D) Somebody

80%

20%

CO-06 (Aurora) See Full Big Line

(D) Jason Crow*

(R) Somebody

90%

10%

CO-07 (Jefferson County) See Full Big Line

(D) B. Pettersen*

(R) Somebody

90%

10%

CO-08 (Northern Colo.) See Full Big Line

(R) Gabe Evans*

(D) Manny Rutinel

(D) Yadira Caraveo

45%↓

40%↑

30%

State Senate Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

80%

20%

State House Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

95%

January 16, 2013 10:15 AM UTC

Illinois Legislators Warned: Pension COLA-theft Idea is Unconstitutional.

1 Comments
by: PolDancer

In 2010, Colorado legislators received similar warnings and inexplicably ignored them.

From NBC Chicago:

“Ralph Martire, executive director for the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, has a warning for the (Illinois) General Assembly: Most of the pension reform solutions you’re considering are unconstitutional, and would be overturned after a court challenge by state employees.”

http://www.ctbaonline.org/

“The bill garnering the most support currently would reduce the unfunded liability by cutting existing retirement benefits two key ways: Eliminating for six years cost-of-living adjustments retirees currently get annually and limiting how much salary a pension can be based on.”

“Martire cites a case from the 1980s, when the General Assembly passed a law changing the formula for determining judges’ pensions. It ran afoul of Article XIII, Section 5 of the Illinois Constitution, which states, ‘Membership in any pension or retirement system of the state…shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.'”

“We Are One Illinois, a coalition of public employee unions, issued a similar warning, urging legislators to reject unconstitutional bills that failed during the veto session.”

“Today marks a welcome fresh start. Illinois lawmakers now have a second chance to work with our coalition to produce a thoughtful, reasonable, and legal solution to the state’s fiscal problems. Although public employees did not cause Illinois’ pension funding dilemma, they are problem solvers by trade and willing to do their part to fix it. Accordingly, we will continue to work diligently to organize a summit with legislators as the 98th General Assembly begins its work.”

“We Are One Illinois includes the AFL-CIO, the Illinois Education Association, AFSCME, the Service Employees International Union, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, and the Illinois Nurses Association.”

(My comment: The Colorado counterparts of many of these organizations supported the breach of Colorado PERA public pension contracts in 2010. Is it not absurd that an organization fights for public pension rights in one state, while its counterpart in another state is complicit in the breach of public pension contracts?

As we read on the Colorado PERA website:

“In Colorado, Senate Bill 1 passed with the support of the Colorado Coalition for Retirement Security, which brought together Friends of PERA (which includes PERA members and retirees), the Colorado Education Association, the Colorado School and Public Employees Retirement Association, AFSCME Colorado, the American Federation of Teachers Colorado, the Association of Colorado State Patrol Professionals, the Colorado Association of School Executives, and Colorado WINS.”

Link:

http://www.copera.org/pera/abo…

Link to NBC Chicago article:

http://www.nbcchicago.com/blog…

Excerpts from Ralph Martire’s article in the Illinois State Journal Register:

“One of the named plaintiffs in this case, James Felt, showed that upon his retirement, the new computation would cause him to lose $3,187.44 in annual benefits. The state countered that its police power allowed it to impair contracts where the impairment was insubstantial and the state’s interest was compelling – in this case ensuring the fiscal viability of its underfunded judicial pension system.”

“While recognizing the state’s legitimate interest in ensuring the fiscal viability of its pension systems, the Illinois Supreme Court nonetheless struck down the legislation as an unconstitutional diminishment of a pension benefit. In the process, the Felt Court rejected every single argument the state made. Indeed, the court maintained that doing otherwise would ignore the plain language of the Illinois Constitution, overrule prior Illinois Supreme Court decisions and run counter to the clear intent of the drafters of the Illinois Constitution. As to this last point, the Supreme Court cited an explanation of Article XIII, Section 5 given by its author in the Record of Proceedings from the 1970 Constitutional Convention. That explanation plainly stated the intention of the provision was to prohibit the state from ‘changing the terms of’ or ‘lessening’ the pension benefits payable to workers’ ‘after they have embarked upon employment.'”

Link to State Journal Register article:

http://www.sj-r.com/thedome/x1…

(My comment: In 2010, the Colorado General Assembly was encouraged to submit an interrogatory to the Colorado Supreme Court seeking clarity on the contractual status of public pension rights in Colorado. For some reason, the General Assembly neglected to take this step and forged ahead with the adoption of pension reform legislation that was illegal on its face. Who made this decision? As we have seen, in 2010, the Colorado General Assembly abdicated its responsibility to make public pension policy in Colorado to a group of 17 lobbyists.)

Mission of the CBTA:

“The mission of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (“CTBA”) is to identify, develop, and introduce into the public debate rigorous, non-partisan, data-driven analysis and progressive, equitable public policy recommendations that will improve the fiscal health of Illinois and other states.”

Link:

http://www.ctbaonline.org/

One thought on “Illinois Legislators Warned: Pension COLA-theft Idea is Unconstitutional.”

lyjtrpcnf says:

January 16, 2013 at 11:21 am

Not being up on the case law I don’t feel comfortable further weighing in. I’d say beyond the legal angle there are serious policy issues with not addressing PERA.

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Illinois Legislators Warned: Pension COLA-theft Idea is Unconstitutional.

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One thought on “Illinois Legislators Warned: Pension COLA-theft Idea is Unconstitutional.”

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