Nine years ago today the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on our public pensions. We call it Constitution Day.
It was the former, now deceased, president of Illinois’ largest teacher union, the Illinois Education Association, who named us “the Perfection Caucus.”
It was derisive on his part.
We wear it as a medal.
Like much of the state’s public employee union leadership, he desperately wanted to cut a deal with the Illinois General Assembly, former Democratic Senate Leader John Fullerton and currently indicted former Speaker Mike Madigan on some kind of pension reform.
By “reform” they meant benefit cuts.
The Perfection Caucus didn’t think they could do that.
Of course, we were not alone among the union’s current and former rank and file to oppose any such deal.
But we were loud and persistent.
On May 8th, 2015 the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on a law suit initiated by the Illinois Retired Teachers Association that the language of the state constitution which clearly stated that membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired meant exactly what it said.
After a while the state’s public employee unions joined in on the law suit, but they really had no choice.
Nine years later, current and future public employees can depend on their promised and constitutionally protected pensions to arrive each month.
Legislators continue to wrestle with the pensions of employees hired after January 2, 2011.
They are in a Tier 2 pension system that will not likely meet the federal requirements of safe harbor. That means their benefit will not even match what they would have received in the Social Security system.
We can look for more lawsuits when those public employees begin to retire.
That will be soon.
Today, May 8th, at a Greek restaurant in the western suburbs of Chicago, a group of retired teachers will meet over a celebratory lunch as we do every year on this day.
We call today Constitution Day.
The Perfection Caucus.
We expect nothing less.