Rauner supports Democrat’s pension plan with union measure

Rauner and legislative Democrats can’t agree on a spending plan for the fiscal year that began July 1.

Governor Bruce Rauner had a change of heart and says he’ll endorse and support a pension reform bill sponsored by Senate President John Cullerton. The governor began with another salvo at House Speaker Mike Madigan and the fact the Democratic leader’s chamber has not considered another pension reform bill. “Speaker Madigan, completely unreasonable, irresponsible as a leader of the legislature”, said the governor.

Sen. Cullerton’s “Consideration Model” of retirement benefits is supposed to give government workers a choice between keeping more generous yearly cost-of-living increases or continuing to include salary raises in retirement benefits calculation. It’s the union-endorsed plan Madigan rejected two years ago.

Rep. Ron Sandack, R-Downers Grove, also said Chapter 9 bankruptcy – which would require enabling legislation by the General Assembly – would not be a bailout should the independent board appointed by the state superintendent choose to pursue reorganization under bankruptcy law.

Cullerton says Rauner misrepresented their conversations and doesn’t support the position on collective bargaining. Rauner’s administration argued it was a “core” principle of Cullerton’s plan and lawyers on both sides had agreed it was necessary to withstand a legal challenge. “Not the plan we discussed this morning, and it does not have my support”.

“Each employee will make their own choice to decide whether they want their salary increase to be pensionable or not”, Governor Rauner said.

Current school funding formulas have led to the under-resourcing of Chicago Schools, schools that employ the greatest number of Black and Latino educators and serve a large percentage of the state’s Black and Latino students. “By the divide, how will that create jobs and help rebuild the infrastructure of the state of IL, tell me how?” she said.

A new report by the ReFund America project released earlier this week shows how Chicago Public Schools, the City of Chicago, and the State of IL are being bled dry by Wall Street banks through predatory interest rate swap deals. “That crisis always ends up for a plea for additional money for Chicago at the expense of school districts in the suburban and downstate communities”.