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 At a status hearing on Thursday, Sangamon County Circuit Court
Judge John Belz gave the state until Oct. 3 to respond to plaintiff
motions for summary judgment and two other motions and scheduled a
status hearing for Oct. 8, according to a court filing.
The public labor union coalition We Are One Illinois and other
parties are seeking an expedited ruling in their consolidated
lawsuits arguing that the pension reform law passed in December is
unconstitutional.
They cited an Illinois Supreme Court decision on July 3 in the case
Kanerva v. Weems, in which the court ruled that health care for
retired state workers is a pension benefit protected by the state
constitution.
 The same provision is the focus of the lawsuits filed by We Are One
Illinois. The new pension reform law reduces and suspends
cost-of-living increases for pensions, raises retirement ages and
limits the salaries on which pensions are based.
"In his comments today, Judge Belz indicated that he had read
Kanerva and that he believes that he can get this case resolved this
year," said John Shapiro, an attorney for the union coalition.
"The coalition plaintiffs and the other plaintiffs are encouraged by
those words that a judgment in their favor will be entered before
long."
Judge Belz on Thursday also struck all other discovery dates in the
case from the court calendar.
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The state has contended that its sovereign powers allow it to act in
a fiscal emergency. Illinois has a $100 billion unfunded pension
liability and the country's worst-funded state retirement system.
Illinois's credit ratings are also the lowest among U.S. states.
A spokeswoman for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Karl Plume; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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