IL Gov. Bruce Rauner Vetoes Chicago School Pension Funding Bill

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on Thursday vetoed a bill that would have provided a funding package of $215 million to the pension system of Chicago Public Schools [CPS].

The Senate promptly overrode the veto; however, the overriding process will likely stall in the House.

Rauner said he vetoed the bill because Democrats didn’t hold up their end of the bargain: state-wide pension reform.

From Crain’s:

“The agreement was clear: Republicans supported Senate Bill 2822 only on condition that Democrats re-engage in serious, good faith negotiations,” the governor said in his veto message. “Despite my repeated requests for daily negotiations and hope to reach a comprehensive agreement by next week, we are no closer to ending the (budget) impasse or enacting pension reform.”

Rauner’s reference was to a now two-year standoff between him and House Speaker Mike Madigan on whether to enact a “clean” budget bill with a needed tax hike, or to also pass some of the union-weakening, political reform that Rauner wants in his “Turnaround Illinois” agenda.

Though it was widely reported at the time that the CPS pension deal was linked to statewide pension changes, Senate President John Cullerton today denied that.

Details of the bill:

The measure, which would refinance pension systems covering laborers and white-collar workers by requiring taxpayers to put in more and newly hired workers to pay more, today zipped through the House by a veto-proof 91-16 margin and seems to be headed for routine final approval by the Senate.