Rauner said he has not spoken to Speaker Madigan but has spoken to Cullerton, who was “appreciative, positive, forward leaning”.
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Cullerton, who wasn’t at the news conference, said in a statement that he didn’t support Rauner’s position on collective bargaining.
Rauner said the initiative would give workers a choice between having future salary increases count toward their pensions or continuing to receive 3 percent compounded annual cost-of-living increases upon retirement.
He added it would save the state $1 billion annually and affect four of the state’s five pension funds.
But Senate President John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, said the plan promoted by the Republican governor goes beyond what he supports because of curbs on collective bargaining. Rauner has taken steps he says will make the state’s sometimes controversial system of corporate tax breaks more effective and fair. The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the General Assembly can not alter earned benefits.
The governor said his proposal has been reviewed by lawyers, and he is confident it will survive any legal challenge; the Illinois Constitution says pensions “shall not be diminished or impaired” – language which has derailed past attempts at public pension reform.
According to the plan, citizens will have a choice to have their salary increases be subject to pension benefits. This is a key point.
Rauner has supported such a “consideration” model before but said Thursday that he’d tweak it, ensuring that discussion of wage increases be removed from the collective bargaining process. The governor stopped short of an outright endorsement, saying it should include curbs on unions’ collective-bargaining power. There’s been little progress since the state high court’s decision because of budget gridlock.
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Union coalition We Are One Illinois contended the governor’s plan was unconstitutional.
