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Illinois Gov.
Quinn signs state pension reform law aimed at curbing abuses
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[January 06, 2012]
CHICAGO (AP) -- Under a law signed Thursday, public employees can no
longer rely on some loopholes to inflate their state benefits,
including one that allowed two union officials to qualify for
teachers' retirement perks after a single day in the classroom.
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 The law, which takes
effect immediately, also aims to end the
practice of double-dipping. In some cases -- most notably in the
Chicago area -- employees took leaves of absence from city jobs,
took full-time union jobs, then collected pensions from both.
The legislation also says current union leaders can't base public
pensions on union paychecks; now their pay will be based on their
salaries when they leave their government jobs.
"Pension abuse can't run rampant as it has been reported in recent
months," said Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross, in a
statement. "We will remain vigilant on these issues of abuse as well
as tackling the broader systematic funding problems with our pension
systems."
The new law closes a loophole made possible by legislation in 2007
that allowed two lobbyists for the Illinois Federation of Teachers
to qualify for teachers' retirement benefits after spending one day
in the classroom. Neither had prior teaching experience, but they
were allowed to count past years as union employees toward teacher
pensions after quickly obtaining teachers' credentials and
substitute teaching for a single day. A spokesman for the men has
questioned the constitutionality of the new law because it's
retroactive. The Chicago Tribune first reported the practice last
year.
The law also requires that any suspicion of pension fraud be
reported to the authorities.
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It doesn't address larger issues, including how to reduce the state
retirement systems' massive $85 billion unfunded liability.
"We are moving forward and focused on working together this year to
tackle the remaining pension challenges that face Illinois," Gov.
Pat Quinn's office said in a statement.
[Associated Press;
By SOPHIA TAREEN]
Sophia Tareen can be reached at
http://twitter.com/sophiatareen.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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