By midnight Thursday, we should know whether we have succeeded in beating back another illegal and unfair attack on the pensions of Illinois public employees.
This is your fight and the participation of all 132,000 IEA members is needed if we are to stop Senate Bill 512, the illegal and unfair pension legislation.
- It is unconstitutional to reduce benefits for active employees.
- For most education employees, their pension is their only form of retirement security because teachers can’t collect full Social Security, even if they have earned it from other work.
- Teachers have loyally paid their share portion into the state’s pension systems; The pension problem is a result of politicians using the systems as a credit card to pay for other state services.
ALL IEA MEMBERS ARE URGED TO CONTACT THEIR LEGISLATORS THIS WEEK
- Call 888/412-6570 and follow the prompts to be connected to your legislator and use the above talking points, or
- Go to the IEA website, click on the pension tab at the top of the page and you will see a link to email your legislators.
I am following the pension battles w great interest, since I am a future State pensioner (by virtue of 15 yrs as an IDOT construction engineer). My wife hopes to become a teacher (if our school districts ever recover financially), and I am paying into SURS as a jr college adjunct.
My State Rep (35th District, Cunningham) sent me a 4-pg letter, stating that he would have never agreed to the Sears deal last year, had it stood alone.
I would like to suggest that if my old-age benefits are to be cut, that the TIFs, in-state incentives, IL city v IL city incentives, and large (Sears) incentives be cut or suspended. (For instance, why must car dealerships play off one town v another for sales tax rebates? Outlaw or suspend all rebates, and use the rebates to fund the pensions)
Are there any similar sentiments in your part of the State? It seems that the TIFs, rebates, and incentive deals could pay for at least part of the pension payments.
I agree w your suggestions about teachers (and other state employees, btw) being at the table. We are not supplicants, we are the State’s largest creditors, and we need to conduct ourselves accordingly.