It could be a long time before the constitutionality of Illinois’ pension reform law is argued in the halls of the state’s Supreme Court. But now that day might come sooner than previously thought.
The Illinois Supreme Court used its authority today to improve the efficiency of the legal battles surrounding the state’s pension reform law by consolidating all four of the lawsuits into one case.
Four separate lawsuits had been already been filed against the reform law, which was passed in December and goes into effect July 1, 2014 but could be delayed by the lawsuits.
The State Journal Register fills us in on some of the background:
State lawmakers last year approved reforms designed to save the state $160 billion in pension payments over the next 30 years and wipe out the $100 billion pension debt.
The reforms change the 3 percent compounded annual raises in pension benefits, raise the retirement age and limit the salary on which a pension can be earned.
The reform bill also cut by one percentage point the amount of contributions workers must make toward their pensions. Pension reform proponents believe that “consideration” in exchange for lowering benefits makes the reforms constitutional.
Retired teachers, retired state workers and a coalition of public employee unions all filed lawsuits contending the change violates the pension protection clause of the state Constitution. That clause calls pension benefits an “enforceable contractual relationship” between government and workers and says the benefits cannot be “diminished or impaired.”
Attorney Don Craven, who filed one of the consolidated lawsuits on behalf of the Illinois State Employees Association Retirees, told the Journal Star that the consolidation could end up producing a speedier resolution, because cases move more quickly in Sangamon County than in Cook.