Lawmaker seeks support to suspend retired legislators' pensions if they face criminal charges

[April 05, 2022]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A state lawmaker is working to get more support for a measure she says will act as a deterrent for corruption at the Illinois statehouse.

Illinois has a history of elected officials being charged with corrupt acts. The highest profile case is that of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago. Last month, he was charged with 22 counts of corruption, including racketeering, bribery and extortion. He’s pleaded not guilty, signaling the case could be drawn out.

State Rep. Amy Elik, R-Fosterburg, filed House Bill 5737 Friday to suspend the pensions of retired lawmakers if they’re charged with crimes associated with their elected position.

“If they are found not guilty, they will receive their pension payments back,” Elik said. “So, I think that it definitely puts them on notice though that we’re not going to be accepting of unnecessary delays to cases just so they can keep receiving a paycheck from the state.”
 

Current law says a retired lawmaker’s pension can be stripped if they’re convicted of a crime associated with their time as an elected official. Elik said that’s not enough of a deterrent. She said Madigan’s case is an example where it’s expected to take significant time to resolve as he’s pleaded not guilty.

“My constituents are rightly upset that he could go on to receive that penson payment, drag out his court case for a very long time and still be receiving those pension payments,” Elik told The Center Square.

Madigan is receiving $7,100 a month in pension payments for being a retired state lawmaker. The Illinois Policy Institute estimates Madigan could get about $2.9 million in payouts while only having put in around $351,000 of his own salary. The next hearing in Madigan’s case isn’t until August.

“What we’ve done so far is not discouraging enough to corrupt politicians that continue to infiltrate politics in Illinois,” Elik said.

Elik’s bill was assigned to the House Rules Committee Sunday. She expects her fellow Republicans to support the measure as she works to get Democrats on board. Lawmakers are in session through Friday, April 8.

Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning Newsfeed out of Springfield.