By Jennifer Rice
Managing Editor
Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013
jen@foxvalleylabornews.com
     NAPERVILLE — Trying to sum up the goings on of Illinois’ pension mess is no easy task.
     This summer, a conference committee was created to reach a compromise on pension reform. The 10 conferees — five from each chamber of the General Assembly, have periodically met, trying to find solutions suitable for everyone involved. State Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) is one of the 10 on the committee.
     Holmes spent the good part of a Naperville Township Democratic Organization meeting bringing members up-to-date on those meetings, answering questions from teachers and giving realistic answers to difficult questions.
     Senate Bill 2404 was a bill that had the best shot of addressing the issue of the pension debt owed to teachers, police, nurses, caregivers and other public servants for their retirement savings now and in the future.
     It was designed to help address the state’s nearly $100 billion in pension debt, which threatens funding for education and other core services. The state’s failure to pay its share of pension payments in the past is largely to blame for the ballooning debt.
     It passed in the Senate with 40 votes, considered a win by Holmes, as the Senate needs 30 votes to pass anything.
     SB 2404 also was negotiated and agreed to by the We Are One Coalition, of which Illinois Education Association (IEA) is a member. The other members of the coalition are other public employee unions.
     SB 2404 headed to the House, where it needed 60 votes to pass. At the time, Holmes was informed there were 80 votes in the House waiting to approve it.
     “However, House Speaker Mike Madigan decided not to call the bill and the entire House never had the opportunity to vote on it and therefore, it was not passed,” Holmes explained.
     Madigan had his own plan, which was to push through his own pension reform bill — SB 1.
     “It did pass in the House, but when it came over to the Senate, it got only 16 votes, so it failed quite dramatically,” Holmes said.
     From there, the Pensions Conference Committee was formed.
     “We’re supposed to come up with a compromise and a whole different solution and that work has been on going,” she said.
     Through this entire process, Holmes has been unwavering on a promise she made in 202 to union members: “I’m not supporting any pension bill that does not have a negotiated agreement with the unions that are representing the people who are going to be impacted by this legislation.”
     One thing she knows is for certain — no matter what is decided the matter will be taken to the courts.
     “No matter what we pass — even if it was SB 2404, which was negotiated, would still have been taken to court. And that’s because there is a clause in the Constitution, that was put there in 1970, that reads, ‘We shall not diminish pension benefits.’”
     Holmes is astonished the public and various media outlets are blaming teachers.
     “I cannot believe the public is actually blaming teachers for the mess we’re in. The mess is solely the mess of the legislature. We didn’t fund it. It’s the state that did it,” she stressed.
     In looking towards the future, Holmes doesn’t any solution happening quickly. Every time the Pensions Conference Committee devises a solution, it is taken to the Actuarial Committee to analyze savings.