In his State of the State address last week, Governor Pat Quinn endorsed Illinois Senate President John Cullerton’s plan for cutting Illinois’ pension costs. But it’s unclear how tied Quinn is to the plan. Quinn has a reputation for changing his mind, and since the state’s pension debt has taken the center state at the capitol, the governor has backed a variety of proposals and competing ideas.
Amanda Vinicky continues yesterday’s conversation with the Senate President. She started out asking asked him how important Quinn’s position is to lawmakers as they debate the pension issue.
Governor Quinn and the Illinois Legislature are getting ready to severely cut the pensions of Retired State workers who have had but one shot to look at and agree to the terms of their retirement facts and figures; they do not get a re-do and the State of Illinois regards them as too old to go back to work, many in dangerous jobs such as in Corrections and Police work. It is unfair to ask such a high price of these former workers after the fact of retirement. Many retirees took the level payout option in which, at age 67, their pension check would be minus their entire Social Security Check amount. We would have not chosen this option if we had known we would lose our COLAs. WUIS, why have you not inquired from the politicians on this???