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Pension
commission vote a political cover for governor
The governor's Pension Funding
Commission has revealed its true agenda -- politics over solutions.
Instead of using this panel of experts to develop long-term
solutions to a very real pension funding crisis, the governor's
allies are using it to give him political cover for the budget
address Feb. 16.
At its Feb. 4 meeting, the
commission recommended on an 8-3 vote that any savings from any
pension reforms enacted by the General Assembly should be allocated
proportionately from 2006 to 2045. I voted "no," as did Rep. Mark
Beaubien, R-Wauconda, and a representative of the United Food and
Commercial Workers union.
As a commission member, I vehemently
oppose any plan to "recognize" future savings that may, or may not,
occur under long-term reforms. That's just another attempt to spend
more today to shore up the governor's sagging budget and push the
cost to the future. No matter how you spin it, we would simply be
spending money now that we don't have -- and may never have.
The responsible thing to do is to
recognize savings only in the years in which those savings
actually occur. To build a proposed budget -- or to enact a budget
-- that underfunds our pensions today, in hopes of receiving savings
sometime in the future, is the height of irresponsibility. All those
hours of meetings became nothing but political cover for the
governor and an absolute farce.
Brady,
Mitchell urge governor to help Illiopolis
Rep. Bill Mitchell and I are asking
Gov. Rod Blagojevich provide help for the village of Illiopolis in
his Opportunity Returns plan for central Illinois.
"The village and people of
Illiopolis have undergone tremendous hardship over the past year,
beginning with the deadly explosion that claimed five lives at the
Formosa Plastics plant," Mitchell said. "The people of Illiopolis
are not only trying to cope with the loss of human life in their
community, but the financial impact has been devastating as well."
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of second column in this article] |
 The plant formerly employed 133
employees. Today, that number is down to 50. And, to help the plant
save money during its recovery, Formosa officials have turned over
control of the water plant to the village. The water plant serves
the entire community.
We are urging Gov. Blagojevich to
include $150,000 in his Opportunity Returns plan to help Illiopolis
redirect the water pipeline that ran to the plant. This is a very
costly project for a small community, and state assistance is needed
to help ease the burden on the local taxpayers.
The Opportunity Returns program is
designed to help promote jobs and economic development in Illinois.
The governor is expected to announce his plan for the Central region
in the near future.
New
Senate committee
Senate Republican Leader Frank
Watson, R-Greenville, has asked me to serve on three Illinois Senate
committees.
I will serve as Republican spokesman
for the Senate Insurance Committee and the Senate Pensions and
Investments Committee. These committees consider legislation
affecting the insurance industry and pension systems.
I will also serve on the Senate
Revenue Committee, which considers legislation involving the
Illinois tax code and tax-related issues.
The Senate's 22 standing committees
analyze legislation dealing with specific subject areas, such as
education, agriculture and transportation. Committees screen
legislation introduced by all members. Usually, only those bills
approved by a committee may be considered by the entire Senate.
New
Springfield office
I have a new Springfield office. The
address is 105D State Capitol, Springfield, IL 62706. The phone
number remains the same: (217) 782-6216.
[From
Sen. Bill Brady,
44th District] |
