Making good on her pledge to reform government and proactively address the state’s financial woes, state Rep. Jehan Gordon (D-Peoria) on Wednesday voted for a monumental set of reforms to the state’s pension systems that will eliminate pension double-dipping, place a cap on taxpayer-funded retirement benefits and positions Illinois to save hundreds of millions of dollars for years to come.
“During one of the worst financial times in Illinois’ history, this legislation takes important steps to decrease our financial obligations in a fair way and with common sense reforms,” Gordon said. “I have heard from a number of constituents who are fed up with practices like double-dipping that allow government employees to draw a taxpayer-funded salary and pension at the same time. These reforms will help relieve some of the financial stress weighing down our pension systems and create a more accountable retirement system for public employees. Being a legislator requires tough decisions, and this was clearly the right thing to do.”
Senate Bill 1946 makes several changes to the pensions received by any new public employees, excluding firefighters and police officers. These changes include: increasing the retirement age; placing a cap on the benefits received; placing a cap on yearly cost of living adjustments; setting a standard rate to the benefits received by survivors; setting a standard number of years it takes be vested in the system; prohibiting a person from receiving a pension from one retirement system and a salary from another simultaneously; and increasing the years used to determine average salaries to eliminate unnecessary pension bumps.
“As the average constituent in my district likely doesn’t have a pension, yet pays to fund the pensions of public employees through their tax dollars. I think it is only right to make sure we have a system that is fair and not overly burdensome on taxpayers,” Gordon said. “Not only is this reform package about changing the way the pensions operate for new employees, it is also about making sure our pension funds can be more solvent and in better financial health for decades to come.”
The bill passed overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives and awaits action in the Senate.