Legislation of the Day - Pension Reforms or Padding?

Do the taxpayers of Illinois owe government employees pensions in excess of $100,000 per year? I don't believe they do. In fact, I've been saying for a few years we should at least cap pensions at $75,000, but $100,000 is a lot better than nothing.

Senate Bill 246 - Chris Lauzen (R-25, Aurora)
Synopsis As Introduced
Amends the General Provisions Article of the Illinois Pension Code. Provides that the total retirement annuity, including any automatic, one-time, or other increases in that annuity, shall not ever exceed $100,000 per year. Applies only to a person who first becomes a participant on or after the effective date. Effective immediately.

If you'd rather scrap the pension system and start over, Senate Bill 621 might be more your speed.

Senate Bill 621 - Bill Brady (R-44, Bloomington)
Synopsis As Introduced
Amends the Illinois Pension Code. Requires the General Assembly Retirement System, the State Employees' Retirement System of Illinois, the State Universities Retirement System, the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois, and the Judges Retirement System of Illinois to automatically enroll its newly eligible employees in a self-managed program of retirement benefits instead of the program of retirement benefits currently offered and allows currently eligible employees to elect to participate in the self-managed program. Provides that a self-managed plan shall authorize a participating employee to accumulate assets for retirement through a combination of employer and employee contributions that may be invested at the employee's direction in mutual funds, collective investment funds, or other investment products and used to purchase annuity contracts. Provides that, to the extent that the changes made by the amendatory Act are determined to be a new benefit increase, the changes are exempt from the 5-year expiration provision. Effective immediately.

Then again, if you don't feel the least bit guilty raking in millions after retirement, you'll like some of these pension sweeteners.

Senate Bill 212 - M. Mattie Crotty (D-19, Oak Forest)
Increases the maximum pension from 75% to 80% of salary.

Senate Bill 217 - Iris Martinez (D-20, Chicago)
Provides that the service retirement pension for a teacher who retires on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act shall be 2.4% (now 2.2%) of average salary for each year of creditable service.

Senate Bill 1743 - Iris Martinez (D-20, Chicago)
Amends the Chicago Police Article of the Illinois Pension Code to base retirement benefits on the highest 36 months, rather than 4 years, of salary within the last 10 years of service, for persons retiring on or after January 1, 2008.

Senate Bill 85 - John Cullerton (D-6, Chicago)
Allows a designated domestic partner to qualify as a surviving spouse for purposes of survivor and death benefits. (Not really a sweetener, but controversial enough to mention.)

Senate Bill 159 - James A. DeLeo (D-10, Chicago)
Increases the amount of unused sick time that may be included in calculating the retirement pension, from 244 to 315 days.

There were many more pension padding bills that I won't even pretend to understand how they work. SB719, SB1143, SB1197, SB1198, SB1740, SB1741, and SB1748 were a few of notice just in the Senate.